A Fairy Tale
by heykyra13
Summary: A classic medieval fairy tale with a Cardcaptor twist- Sakura's a princess, Li's an ordinary swordsman, Kero's a guardian, and the cards are in this, too. All the familiar Cardcaptor Sakura characters are intertwined in a dramatic journey to save the coun
1. Prologue

"Your Majesty!" a servant called from the ajar door of the King's chamber.  
  
The man who turned in response to his call looked at the servant with concern. Wrinkles aged his handsome features long beyond his years. His clean-cut brown hair and gentle brown eyes were hardly visible behind the rugged sleeplessness and worn expression. Within a few large strides, the king was in front of the servant; hands cupped together, brows furrowed in worry.  
  
"Please, tell me, is she alright?" he asked.  
  
The servant looked up into the eyes of his master and smiled, his leather-tanned skin stretched taught over his lean face.  
  
"Yes, your Highness. They are both alive and well."  
  
Upon hearing the words, the king all but collapsed in relief. He placed a large hand against the doorframe for support, realizing that up until now, he had been holding his breath. He looked up at the surprised servant, the question in his mind not needed to be spoken.  
  
The servant nodded. "Yes sir. The doctor says you may go see them when you please."  
  
Smiling gratefully, the king walked quickly past him, striding across the corridor to the large oak doors, lined with gold. Cautious, he pushed it open, slowly, so as not to wake any sleeping new comers that might be inside. Slipping inside, he closed the door behind him and turned to face the large, luxurious bed.  
  
There, a woman lay, half-asleep. Long, dark hair lay richly around her. In her arms, small movement indicated life within the blanket folds. Her bright violet eyes danced momentarily at the sight of him.  
  
"Come in, Aiden. She won't bite," she said, her delightfully sweet voice soft with exhaustion.  
  
Smiling sheepishly, the king tiptoed across the room to the velvet cushioned chair beside the bed. Leaning forward, his eyes devoured the small treasure in her arms.  
  
As if in response to her father's loving gaze, the infant yawned, slowly opening her eyes to reveal, to his delight, two small emerald green eyes identical to that of her grandmother's. Wisps of copper brown hair covered her delicate head like velvet. The more he saw of her, the more he marveled at this wonderful gift. His brief glance caught the gaze of his wife.  
  
"So it is a girl?"  
  
She nodded, looking down at the baby. "Yes. A beautiful baby girl."  
  
Chuckling lightly, the king extended his hand, caressing the baby's cheek with his finger. Catching her attention, the finger was soon within the tiny hands of the infant, exploring the strange item in her grasp.  
  
"I think she likes you," the mother said teasingly.  
  
Glancing slyly at her, the king regrettably plucked the child's finger from his on, standing up.  
  
"I must go tell the others."  
  
Nodding, the mother used her own finger to replace the one taken away while the king moved across the room to the doors. Looking back briefly at the new mother and daughter, the king smiled and swept out of the room.  
  
Closing the door behind him, he nearly ran into a small, dark haired boy. The boy looked up at him with concern, a look similar to the one he himself displayed what seemed like ages ago. The king kneeled, placing his hand on the boy's shoulder reassuringly.  
  
"They're both fine."  
  
"Then why is it so quiet?"  
  
"She's just tired, that's all. It took a lot of her strength to bring us your baby sister."  
  
The boy brightened with interest. "So it's a girl?"  
  
Straightening, the king shook his head, slowly approaching the window looking out into the garden.  
  
"Not just a girl, my son. A princess."  
  
Following his father, the boy looked out as well.  
  
"What will she be called?"  
  
The king was startled. What will he name her? He was so busy thinking about celebrations and ceremonies and the well being of the child and mother, he had completely forgotten about naming the child.  
  
Outside, the wind breezed by. Below him, his wife's cherry blossom tree bloomed beautifully, exposing the world its lovely pink blossoms. On a sudden gust of wind, a single flower broke off the branch, appearing to dance with the wind. Watching, the kind saw the blossom float towards the window, landing softly on the sill.  
  
The king, looking tenderly at the blossom, smiled. Leaning forward, he pushed the window open, taking the fragile flower in his hand. Turning, he showed his find to his son, smiling.  
  
"Sakura. She will be called Sakura." 


	2. The Purebred of Falyndor

Nine years later  
  
"Li!"  
  
Stalks of wheat bended and swayed as somebody rushed through them, avoiding the person behind the call.  
  
"Li! Where did you go?"  
  
A young girl of about 9 years looked around angrily for her escapee. Jet black hair tied back into two buns with long strands handing from each bounced up and down above the wheat fields, searching for the boy she seeked. Scarlet red eyes darted this way and that, furious. Storming around, she stomped her feet into the ground, throwing her head back.  
  
"Li! Wait till I tell your mother you ran off again!"  
  
From the safety of the bushes, her escaped prisoner grinned maliciously, watching her from above while sitting contentedly on a small cliff.  
  
"Go ahead, tell mother," he taunted softly, amber brown hair waving in front of his eyes as he turned away. "See if I care."  
  
Walking along side the rock face, Li jumped down, landing squarely on the grassy field. Ignoring the cries of the girl, he began marching towards the lake in the distance, sparkling like sapphires in the light of the sun.  
  
Within minutes he was there, drinking in the sight of the landscape. To the north were the rugged purple peaks of the Mordomir Mountains, home of the immensely powerful dragons, said to possess strength and magic unimaginable. To his right was the Great Burning desert, dangerous, yet captivating in spite of itself. Turning his head west, he sighed at the sight of the castle. The kingdom of Falyndor sat tucked beneath it.  
  
Seeing the village made him scowl, thinking of his home, overly protective, and of the people within it- including her.  
  
Shaking his head with disgust, he turned and walked towards the trees. Stopping in front of one, he jumped, grabbing onto one of its branches, and swung himself on top. Sitting straddled on the branch, Li reached up and grabbed an apple from among its leaves. He bit into the bright red fruit, savoring the sweet juices it released.  
  
As he ate, he heard a noise below him. Discarding the core, Li crawled along the branch, pushing aside leaves to see.  
  
"Zia, where are you?"  
  
A young girl stepped daintily around the banks of the lake, searching, Li guess, for some sort of pet. She looked about the same age as the companion he had previously ditched, which meant she had to be 2 or 3 years younger than he was, with sort copper hair swinging about her shoulders as she pushed her way through the underbrush. The skirt of her light pink dress caught in the brambles, tearing several small pieces of the fine material.  
  
Li smirked. "Check out Miss Wilderness. Clad in protective gear and everything."  
  
Suddenly, something rustled behind him. Cautiously, he turned around. The leaves stopped moving.  
  
Leaning forward, he sifted through them, not finding anything. Confused, he turned back around.  
  
Li froze. In front of him sat a strange, cat-like creature, long and thin with lavender fur and a long bushy tail. Long, fox ears twitched. Velvet purple wings, bat-like, stretched, flapping a few times before they folded against the creature's back. Big, silver-blue eyes watched him with never ending fascination.  
  
Li had heard tales of Kreetals from the villagers- the legendary creatures with multitudes of magic at their disposal. This was his first time seeing one up close.  
  
He smiled, reaching above him and breaking off an apple. He held it in front of him, crawling slowly towards the animal.  
  
"Shhh, I'm not gonna hurt you," he said soothingly, edging carefully towards the curious Kreetal, who tilted its head to one side, observing him with intrigue. It chirped inquiringly.  
  
"That's it, just stay there," he cooed, his hand now inches away from the creature. The Kreetal sat back on its hind legs, its large eyes staring at the fruit. It leaned forward while still balancing on its back legs, sniffing the food apprehensively.  
  
"Zia!"  
  
The animal looked down, eyes sparkling at the sight of the girl. Looking back briefly at Li, the Kreetal vanished in a puff of lilac smoke. Looking down, Li saw it reappear on the girl's shoulders, tail wrapping possessively around her neck. Gently rubbing its neck with her finger, she looked up at him.  
  
"Thank you for finding Zia for me."  
  
Li snorted, jumping down from the branch and landing in front of her.  
  
"I didn't find her. She found me."  
  
Recognizing the interesting human she met before, Zia squeaked, leaping off the girl's shoulders and gliding to his head, sifting her claws through his hair. The girl giggled.  
  
"Zia seems to find you very interesting."  
  
"Yeah, well if Zia doesn't get off me now, she'll be finding the ground very interesting." Li grunted, flinching as one of her claws pierced his scalp.  
  
Gently, the girl picked up the creature, squealing as she left her find. Rubbing his wounded head, Li glared at Zia, whose head perked as he looked at her.  
  
"You certainly have an interesting way of making friends, don't you?" he replied.  
  
Zia squeaked her response, tail flickering. The girl giggled again.  
  
"What's your name?"  
  
"Li. Li Showron."  
  
Placing Zia back on her shoulders, the girl held her skirts and curtsied. "I am Sakura, Prin-"  
  
Li laughed, watching her in amazement. "What's with the curtsy?"  
  
Sakura flushed pink, straightening.  
  
Li scowled. "You act like my mother- all prim and polite."  
  
"You make it sound as if being polite is a bad thing."  
  
Li placed his hands on his hips and frowned. "Well, when you grow up in a family that cares about nothing but that stuff, it starts to get a little annoying."  
  
Sighing, Sakura nodded. "That's true."  
  
Li scoffed at her. "Oh yeah? What do you know?"  
  
Sakura glared at him, anger beginning to swell up inside her. "What do you mean by that?"  
  
"Look at you, with your fancy dress and curtsy. You're nothing more than a spoiled little purebred!"  
  
"I am not!"  
  
"Yeah you are!" Li taunted, beginning to enjoy himself. "Purebred, purebred!"  
  
Sakura stood fuming, fists clenching, glaring at the boy. Zia, sensing her anger, hissed at Li, whipping her tail in his direction. "I'm not spoiled!"  
  
"Yes you are. You probably live in some big house by the castle, having whatever you want, whenever you want it. I bet you've never worked a single hour in your life! Compared to me, you have it easy!"  
  
By this time, Sakura had had enough. Her face flushed red with anger. In fact, she looked so intimidating, Li began to wish he hadn't pushed her so far.  
  
"Why you immature, idiotic, repulsive little brat! How dare you say I have life easy? You have no idea how hard it is to be-"  
  
"Princess!"  
  
Sakura twirled around, anger in her eyes passing for fear. Li looked over her head at the odd looking speaker.  
  
It was unlike anything he head ever seen. It appeared to be a stuffed animal with its beady black eyes and small golden body. Crème-colored wings beat at the air while his long tail swished back and forth.  
  
"Kero?"  
  
"P-princess!?!"  
  
Kero looked past her, surprised. He had not noticed the boy until now. Ignoring his gaping mouth, the stuffed animal looked back at Sakura. "Princess, do you have any idea how long we've been looking for you? If the king knew you were outside the castle walls, he'd have me hanged! Not to mention the Prince! He'd-"  
  
"But Kero, I'm not that far outside. Zia ran off, and I went to look for her, and-"  
  
"Save the talk for your tutor He's most likely already furious with me enough. Maybe you could talk to him and make him forget about telling the king," Kero said, flying around and pushing her towards the castle. Zia hissed at him, ears pressed against her skull. Kero scowled.  
  
"You hush! If you hadn't ran off in the first place, this probably never would have happened!"  
  
Li stood gawking, staring after the girl he just called a spoiled purebred. He called the Princess of Falyndor a purebred!  
  
Realization finally hitting him, he sank to the ground, groaning.  
  
"Li! There you are!"  
  
The black-haired girl emerged from the bushes, rushing over to him, smiling delightedly. Not noticing he wasn't paying attention, she threw her arms around his neck, shocking him into reality.  
  
"Meilin! What are you doing?"  
  
"Oh, Li! I was looking all over for you! I was so worried," she moaned, sobbing on his shirt. Disgusted, Li peeled himself away from her. Realizing he wasn't with her anymore, she stood up and clung to his arm, pulling him back towards their village outside the castle walls.  
  
"Come, Li! We shouldn't be hanging around here," she insisted.  
  
Ignoring her persistency, Li looked back at castle. Just outside the walls, he saw Sakura, still being shoved towards the gate by that stuffed animal. Zia flew around them both, chattering angrily at Kero. Li sighed.  
  
Noticing this, Meilin followed his gaze looked towards Sakura. Seeing the girl, she frowned, repressing the jealous rage within her and began pulling him even harder towards the village.  
  
"Come on, Li! We have to go home!"  
  
Home. Li shuddered at the thought.. 


	3. The Return of a Demon

Zia never stopped bugging Kero, even inside the confinement of the castle. Despite his attempts to quiet her, he found himself almost willing to let the girl go if it would mean her beast would settle down. Not wanting to deal with neither princess nor pet, Kero forced the girl through a heavy wooden door, shutting it loudly behind her.  
  
Zia hissed a farewell at the shut door, Sakura smiling in spite of herself.  
  
"So there you are, Princess Sakura."  
  
Spinning around, Sakura looked nervously at the front of the room. There stood a young man with silver-gray hair and soft blue eyes. Zia flew to perch on his outstretched arm. His smile reassured Sakura's racing nerves.  
  
"I see you are late for another class, Princess Sakura."  
  
Walking forward, Sakura bowed. "Please forgive me, Professor Julian. I was out-"  
  
"Collecting this little creature, no doubt," the man said, rubbing Zia's chin affectionately.  
  
Sakura looked down at the ground, nodding. Chuckling to himself, the professor lifted Zia off of his arm, placing his other hand on Sakura's shoulder. She looked up into his reassuring smile.  
  
"Don't worry yourself, Princess. Worry does nothing but waste time which we need to be spending on your studies."  
  
Giggling, Sakura nodded. "Yes sir."  
  
Suddenly, the door slammed open. In the room burst a young man with dark brown hair, and equally dark eyes, scanning the room until they caught sight of Sakura.  
  
"Sakura! There you are!" he cried, rushing to her side.  
  
She sighed. "Tori, what are you doing here?"  
  
Seeing she was in no danger, his worried expression was soon exchanged for an annoyed one.  
  
"I had heard that you hadn't shown up at your class. again. I thought something had happened to you."  
  
Sakura peeked briefly at Professor Julian. "You told my brother I was missing?"  
  
The professor merely shrugged. "He came around looking for you. I simply told him you weren't here."  
  
Looking back at her brother, she sighed annoyingly. "And of course, he takes a small incident way out of proportion."  
  
"You should have been in you class, child!" Tori sneered.  
  
"I'm not a child, so stop calling me that!"  
  
Zia flew in Tori's face, squealing angrily at him for making her friend upset.  
  
"Retched beast," Tori muttered, turning back to the door, glaring briefly at his sister before he left.  
  
As the door closed, Sakura sighed, sinking into her desk chair. Believing she was victorious, Zia flew to her shoulder, grinning smugly, oblivious to Sakura's displeasure. She sunk her chin into her hands, looking at Professor Julian skeptically.  
  
"I still don't understand how you can even be friends with him!"  
  
The young man chuckled, sitting on top of her desk. "Come now, you don't honestly mean that. Despite his love of teasing you, he really does care a lot about you."  
  
"That's kinda hard to believe."  
  
"He does. I know under that hard, tough layer is a loving brother who really does worry a lot about you. He may seem mean, but he does care."  
  
Sakura shrugged. "Well, you're the professor. I guess I have no choice but to believe you."  
  
Professor shook his head, standing up. "Nonsense. You always have a choice, though I would prefer if that choice would be to return to your studies for the time being."  
  
Sakura gigged. Zia, pleased she was happy again, flew to a velvet- cushioned pillow, set up on a high shelf so that she could observe all that was taking place.  
  
Pulling out an old, dusty book entitled Magic and Us, Professor Julian began the lesson for his contented pupil.  
  
"Li, where have you been?"  
  
Li groaned. It wasn't enough to insult the Princess of Falyndor. Oh, no, it didn't end there. Now he had his mother to contend with. There she stood, hands on her hips, her dark hair tied back by gold and green ribbons.  
  
Li gulped. He'd rather deal with a dozen dragons than confront his mother.  
  
"You know better than to wander outside the village fields! What were you thinking?"  
  
"I don't know. I just wanted to-"  
  
"I don't care what you wanted to! From now on, you are to go directly to your room right after school. You may work in the fields only if one of your sisters are with you at all times. Got it?"  
  
Li cringed. Great, he thought, another reason for my sisters to torture my now non-existing freedom!  
  
"Yes, ma'am." he whispered aloud, eyes still on the ground.  
  
A muffled grunt and a swish of her skirt indicated her departure. Li sighed, and looked back behind him at the castle lying in the distance.  
  
"Stupid girl," he muttered.  
  
Turning back around, he was startled to see four faces directly in front of him.  
  
"Oooh, a girl is it?"  
  
"I bet that's why he ran off!'  
  
"Our little Li has a girlfriend! How cute!"  
  
"Too bad they won't be able to see each other anymore."  
  
"Stay away from me!" Li growled, marching through the wall of giggling sisters and straight to his room. Watching him storm off, the four girls straightened, looking at each other curiously.  
  
"What'd we say?"  
  
"Your majesties."  
  
From their position by the window, King Aiden and Prince Tori turned, bowing courteously to the Captain of the Guard.  
  
"Captain. Good to see you," the King welcomed. "You have news to report?"  
  
The Captain, despite his weariness, tried to mask his apprehension from his superiors. However, his fatigue did not escape the Prince's watchful eyes.  
  
"What's wrong?" he asked sternly.  
  
The Captain sighed. "I'm afraid the news I have to bring you is not at all good."  
  
The King nodded, indicating his approval to go on.  
  
"Men scouting along the ocean shores have reported the sighting of a ship- black as night with silver sails and streaks of red running along the starboard side."  
  
"The Ebony," the King whispered, color draining from his face.  
  
The Captain nodded. "Yes. Kain has returned."  
  
"That's impossible!" Tori cried, outraged. "Kain was banished five, six years ago! All the magicians and sorcerers in the kingdom created the barrier to ensure the banishment forever!"  
  
"That's what I believed when my men first told me of the sighting. But somehow, someone has managed to obtain enough power to break the barrier."  
  
"But how-"  
  
"That's enough," The King commanded, glancing at his son for silence. "Now I don't know how Kain managed to break the barrier and enter our kingdom once again, but we must all remember that Kain is a demon. Demons have ways of defying all rules and boundaries. Underestimation is the true enemy on our part. It is possible the demon could have drained the power of those existing on the islands."  
  
"But Father, the people in this country are much stronger than those among the islands!" Tori protested. "Won't Kain still try to drain them of their magic as well?"  
  
Staring sternly at the Captain, the King replied softly, "It's true that our people have much more developed powers than those out at sea. However, should they face Kain, they can defend themselves using the powers they have trained. Those you don't have the strength to fight may look to your men for protection, am I right Captain?"  
  
The Captain nodded, saluting smartly. "Yes, your Majesty. We won't let Kain become the same nuisance as before."  
  
A shadow of deep anguish crossed King Aiden's face as he replied softly, "Yes. We mustn't let any of the battle's consequences be repeated."  
  
Tori glanced at his father, understanding the pain he felt. Look back at the Captain, he nodded. "Thank you for the news, Captain. At any rate, we all know he won't face us alone, so we shouldn't expect him anytime soon. But keep your men on alert all the same."  
  
"Yes, Majesty."  
  
"Good. Dismissed."  
  
The Captain bowed. "Thank you, Majesties."  
  
As the Captain left, Tori turned back to his father who returned to his position, staring out the window. Silently, he walked to his side, placing his hand gently on his father's shoulder. Without looking at his son, he whispered, "We mustn't let any mistakes made before be repeated."  
  
"No. We mustn't." 


	4. The Demon Decends

Eight years later  
  
Despite the unforgettable musky smell of hay and animals, the stable was comfortingly dark and cool. Unfortunately, the aspect served to Tori's disadvantage.  
  
"Sakura! Where are you?"  
  
He despised her childish games of hiding from him. With very little patience, even for the sister he adored more than anything, he easily became frustrated with her behavior.  
  
"Sakura, where are-"  
  
A giggle was scarcely heard above him. Looking up, he frowned, seeing the teenage girl sitting among the rafters. She burst out laughing as soon as he saw her. A puff of smoke emerged from behind her and produced Zia sitting smugly on her shoulder, looking very pleased with herself.  
  
"Get down here, now! You could hurt yourself up there!"  
  
"Oh, come on Tori! I'm careful. I'm always careful."  
  
Tori's scowl did not change. Sighing, Sakura got to her feet and jumped off the beam, landing gracefully on her feet. Straightening, she was surprised to find herself looking up into the anxious eyes of her brother and not the angered eyes of her annoying watcher like she was so used to. She smiled. "I'm sorry I worried you, Tori."  
  
Sakura was pleased to see the corners of his mouth turn upwards in the slightest indication of a smile. "Just make sure you're not up there anymore, okay?"  
  
"As long as you're around, I won't," she teased slyly.  
  
"Sakura," he said, his voice low in a soft, parental warning.  
  
Sakura laughed. "Okay, okay. I won't. But I can't make any promises for her," she added, jerking her thumb at the Kreetal on her shoulder. Realizing she was the object of their conversation, Zia's ears perked and eyes glistened.  
  
Tori snorted. "I could care less if that thing broke her neck or not."  
  
Zia jumped to her feet, her back paws on Sakura's shoulder and her front pressed against her chest, squabbling angrily at Tori. He smirked. "Serves you right, annoying rat."  
  
Zia was about to jump off Sakura's shoulder and into his face when her hand held her back.  
  
"No, Zia. He's only joking. He didn't mean it."  
  
"Says who?" he replied, walking past the two into the stall of a large, broad-shouldered black stallion. Sticking out her tongue at her brother, Sakura walked to her own mount, Zia hissing violently as they passed Tori. Her mount was a beautiful white mare with gray eyes dancing at the sight of her mistress.  
  
"Hey there, Cloud. How ya doing?" she whispered.  
  
The mare whinnied softly in response to Sakura's gentle voice and hands.  
  
While still tending to his own horse, Tori glanced at his little sister, who, he was grieved to discover, wasn't that little anymore.  
  
At the age of seventeen, she stood quite tall, just under two heads shorter than himself. What used to be short, brown hair had, over the years, grown long, transforming into more of a beautiful golden-copper color that suited her emerald green eyes well. It now was tied back into a long braid, hanging about her waist with several wisps hanging about her face. A thin, gold circlet was pinned to the top of her head.  
  
She wasn't exactly skinny, but rather attractively slender. Her long legs were concealed underneath the folds of dark green riding breeches. Her loose, crème-colored tunic swayed as she brushed her mare, her pale, silky skin difficult to see against the white of her mount.  
  
Sakura was undeniably beautiful. No prince, duke, or anybody of the like could disagree with that. Many sets of eyes looked at the princess longingly, dreaming of the day when they could claim such a treasure as their own. But one glance at the over-protective older brother washed all dreams and fantasies away. With his mother gone and his father aging, Tori refused to give up his precious sister to any of the lustful jackals searching for her hand.  
  
"We won't let anyone take her away from us, will we Knight?" he asked his stallion softly.  
  
"Take who from you?"  
  
Tori turned. Sakura was already atop Cloud's back, looking down at him curiously. He smiled secretively.  
  
"No one."  
  
Several minutes later, Sakura and Tori, atop Cloud and Knight, were galloping through the meadows, wind rushing through the horses' manes. Zia flew between them, occasionally showing off her aerial abilities by twisting and flipping above them.  
  
"You've been riding Cloud well. I'm surprised she's able to keep up with us."  
  
Sakura laughed. "I'm surprised Knight can keep up with us!"  
  
With soft encouraging in the mare's ear, Sakura urged Cloud to go even faster. Slowly, Cloud's nose inched farther and farther ahead of Knight's, to Tori's astonishment.  
  
"Come on, Tori! We'll race you to the lake!" Sakura called behind her.  
  
Urging Knight to increase his speed as well, the race soon proved to be both exhilarating and competitive. Both horses ran with all their might, eager to please their riders.  
  
In the end, Sakura and Cloud proved to be victorious. While still atop their backs, the two riders allowed the horses to drink from the lake's cool, clear water as Tori looked at Sakura in amazement.  
  
"I had no idea she'd gotten that fast."  
  
"Well we've been out almost everyday. You don't ride Knight nearly enough."  
  
"Yeah, well-"  
  
Suddenly, a high-pitched scream from above alerted their attention. Both Sakura and Tori looked up.  
  
Zia hovered about twenty feet about them, staring out along the Dark Forest. Squeaking her protest, she dived into Sakura's arms, squabbling endlessly.  
  
"What's wrong with the rat?"  
  
"I don't know. She's trembling terribly. She must have seen something that scared her really badly."  
  
Zia dug herself deeper and deeper into the folds of Sakura's tunic, trying to hide from whatever it was she saw. Sakura stroked her back, trying to convince the Kreetal to explain what she saw.  
  
Suddenly, images swirled in Sakura's mind- the result of Zia's message. She recognized the dark green carpet of the Dark Forest below her. Beyond that, she saw the purple Mordomir Mountains. At first, she didn't see what terrified Zia so much. Then she did.  
  
From beyond the mountains, a dark storm cloud rose into the air and began spreading over the forest. Blood red streaks of lightning broke the sky, erupting all through the air. The storm cloud was slowly advancing towards them. Sakura gasped.  
  
"What is it?" Tori asked, urgently.  
  
"A-a cloud."  
  
"A cloud?"  
  
Unable to speak, clearly, she simply pointed. Turning his head abruptly, Tori's eyes widened at the sight of the cloud. It was massive; growing larger the closer it came.  
  
Still shaken, Sakura walked Cloud closer to her brother.  
  
"What is that?" she whispered.  
  
Not answering, Tori gritted his teeth together. His hands clenched into fists around Knight's reigns. Looking back at Sakura, he uttered four words harshly.  
  
"We've gotta go, now!"  
  
Not waiting for further commanding, Sakura leaned back on Cloud's reigns, forcing her to turn around and break into an immediate sprint, Tori right behind her. Zia still sat huddled in Sakura's arms, shivering with the sense of the oncoming presence of imminent danger looming over them.  
  
King Aiden frowned. He, too, saw the dark cloud approaching his kingdom. He sighed.  
  
"I was too gentle. I should have given the command to destroy the demon, but I didn't. And now, because of my tender heart, Kain is back."  
  
"Father!"  
  
Turning, King Aiden sighed in relief seeing his children burst in the door, the small Kreetal trembling in his daughter's arms.  
  
"Father, what's going on?" she asked.  
  
He sighed, glancing at Tori. The terror in his eyes echoed the fear he felt in his heart..  
  
Looking back down at Sakura, he blinked. For a moment, he thought he saw her. He saw her asking him. He saw her tearful eyes, begging him to allow her to.  
  
He blinked again. Sakura stood staring at him, worry etched in her face. He smiled softly, cupping her cheeks in his hands.  
  
"Don't worry, Blossom. Everything will be fine."  
  
Seeing no ease from her expression, King Aiden removed his hands. "Keroberos."  
  
The small, golden beast appeared instantly beside him.  
  
"Yes, Majesty?"  
  
"Please do me the favor of escorting Prince Tori and Princess Sakura outside the kingdom boundaries.  
  
"But Father-" Tori began.  
  
"And if you could also ask Professor Julian to inform the court magicians and sorcerers of Kain's arrival."  
  
"Yes Majesty."  
  
"But Father!"  
  
Before Tori could continue, King Aiden waved his hand and the castle began to dissolve around them. Replacing it was the green trees and grassy fields on the outskirts of the kingdom. Storming up to a single tree atop a shallow hill, Tori slammed his fists against the trunk.  
  
"Father!" he screamed angrily.  
  
"Tori, what's going on?" Sakura asked.  
  
Not answering, he pivoted, marching directly towards the castle.  
  
"P-prince Tori!" Kero sputtered. "Where are you going?"  
  
"I'm going to go help my father!" he spat.  
  
"But he-" Kero was about to fly off after him when he stopped, looking down at Sakura.  
  
"Stay here, Princess."  
  
Confused, Sakura simply stared after Tori, watching as his form grew smaller and smaller. Seeing this as well, Kero flew after him. "Prince Tori! His Majesty gave specific instructions for you to stay away from." Kero's voice faded away as he disappeared behind the hill.  
  
Sakura stared after them, dumbfounded, not knowing what to say. Zia, though still scared, stuck her head above Sakura's arm, looking around nervously.  
  
Still terrified, Sakura spun around, looking beyond the forest at the now immense shadow lurking over the land. Seeing it, Zia squeaked. Flying out of Sakura's arms, the Kreetal grabbed Sakura's tunic in her teeth and pulled.  
  
"Zia, what are you doing? Kero told us to stay here!"  
  
Not listening, Zia pulled as hard as she could. To stop the creature's attempts, Sakura reached out and grabbed her wings at their base, pulling her closer. Holding her tightly in her arms, Sakura struggled to keep hold of the squirming Kreetal.  
  
Instantly, Zia vanished in another puff of smoke, reappearing in front of Sakura's face. Hovering forward, Zia pressed her nose against Sakura's forehead.  
  
"Zia, what are you-"  
  
Sakura did not finish her question. This time, both she and the Kreetal disappeared in the puff of smoke. 


	5. Surprising Reunions

"Li, where are we?"  
  
"How would I know?"  
  
"Li, I'm scared!"  
  
"Yeah? Well I'm sore! Stop hanging on me!"  
  
Annoyed, Li shoved Meilin away. Cowering, she stared at him, tears swelling in her eyes. Li sighed. "Meilin, don't you dare start crying."  
  
"But.but."  
  
Li rolled his eyes, looking down at her like she was a child.  
  
"Look, I'm sorry I yelled. I . I just. I. " His voice trailed off.  
  
Meilin blinked, staring at Li's confused face. He seemed to be staring straight past her.  
  
"Li?"  
  
Ignoring her, Li pushed her away and walked to the dense shrubs he thought he saw move. Sifting through the leaves, he was surprised to see it empty.  
  
"Hmm, I could have sworn I saw-"  
  
"Li! Get it off me!"  
  
Spinning around, Li was startled to see a Kreetal moving around excitedly through Meilin's hair, examining the screaming human it sat upon. Li choked back a laugh, seeing Meilin's horrified face, tears streaming down her face.  
  
"Li! Help me!"  
  
Walking forward, Li held his arm out, looking at the creature patiently.  
  
"Come on, little one," he commanded soothingly.  
  
Looking up, the Kreetal cocked its head to the side, considering the offer. Apparently making up its mind, the beast hopped to his arm, crawling to his shoulder.  
  
"Eww! That thing was in my hair!?" Meilin cried, hands flying to her head to repair the damage the creature had caused.  
  
Ignoring her complaints as she rearranged her hair, Li looked at the Kreetal, who was watching him intently. Its clear blue eyes sparkled iridescently. Li grinned.  
  
"I remember you. You're the Kreetal that belonged to that girl. The." Li groaned as realization washed over him, lowering his voice, "the princess. Zia," he added, "isn't it?"  
  
Zia bobbed her head up and down.  
  
"That thing actually understood you?" Meilin asked, peeking at her cautiously from behind him.  
  
"What are you doing here?" he asked her. "Shouldn't you be with-"  
  
Suddenly, images appeared out of nowhere in his mind. He saw shadows from immensely tall trees. Pines from the Dark Forest no doubt, he thought. As the images changed, he noticed they began to move forward, focusing on someone on the forest floor. Shadows hid the appearances, but Li had guessed it was the princess.  
  
"Was that her?"  
  
Zia nodded.  
  
"I guess you'll want my help, then?"  
  
Jumping off his shoulder, the Kreetal flew towards the bushes he had been inspecting before. Hovering in front of them, Zia looked back at him expectantly.  
  
"Okay, okay. I'm coming."  
  
"Wait!" Meilin cried, grabbing his arm. "Where are you going?"  
  
"I'm gonna go help . her owner," he said cautiously, knowing the young woman's response.  
  
Meilin frowned. "You're gonna go help some girl?"  
  
Li rolled his eyes again. "Look, Meilin, I don't have time for this. Either you're gonna-"  
  
Meilin gripped his arm tighter, looking at him pleadingly. "Don't leave me!"  
  
"Then come with us, already!"  
  
Meilin froze, uncertain of whether to go or not. Impatiently, he jerked his arm out of her grasp and walked towards Zia, disappearing into the underbrush. Meilin looked around, glancing at every shadow the shadows suspiciously and jumping at every sound. From not far away, an owl began to hoot. Squeaking, she jumped into the bushes after Li.  
  
"Li! Wait up for me!"  
  
Sakura's eyes fluttered open. She saw the canopy of the Dark Forest high above her. Groaning, she attempted to sit up, but failed, sinking back with weakness into the soft moss that cushioned her body. Instead of getting up, she turned her head, observing her surroundings.  
  
The first thing she noticed was a young man leaning against a tree, asleep. He appeared to be not much older than she, maybe by a year or two. Auburn brown hair hung low in front of his closed eyes. He was broad shouldered, probably just a hair shorter than her brother, judging by the length of his legs. He didn't appear to be extremely muscled, though he certainly didn't look weak. He was like Tori- lean yet powerful. He wore dark brown breeches with black boots. His arms were crossed over his sleeveless white shirt. He breathed in and out steadily.  
  
Beside him lay a girl, about the same age as she was. She lay curled on the moss, about a foot from where the man lay. She had jet-black hair tied back into two buns with red ribbons; the strands hanging from them swirled around her face as she slept. She was about the height as Sakura, though maybe not as slender. She wore a crème- colored dress that hung about her ankles and a beautiful scarlet red tunic tied at her waist with a thick, gold rope. Despite the scowl she wore while she slept, she was very lovely.  
  
Not knowing who these people were, Sakura began to worry. What if they were thieves? What if they had kidnapped her? What if-  
  
Not wanting to imagine anything worse, Sakura slowly got to her feet, struggling to balance herself. Feeling her knees nearly buckle beneath her, she grabbed the branch of a nearby tree for support.  
  
Breathing slowly and carefully, she tried walking. This proving difficult, Sakura kept her hand along the trunks of the trees, fearing to let go. Slowly, Sakura made her way across the small clearing.  
  
Before entering the safety of the bushes, she looked back at the two. Something on the man's legs caught her attention. She gasped.  
  
Lying comfortably across his legs was Zia, purring softly as she slept.  
  
Arranging herself so she could turn around, she knelt to the ground, crawling towards the man. Now about two feet away, she furrowed her brows in concentration.  
  
Zia! Wake up! she thought.  
  
The Kreetal stirred, but did not wake.  
  
Zia! Get up, now!  
  
Insistent on sleeping, Zia curled her tail around her nose.  
  
Frowning, Sakura crawled closer. Now inches away, Sakura reached out and poked her back. Finally, to Sakura's relief, Zia lifted her small furry head and yawned.  
  
Turning her head slowly, her eyes opened wider when she saw her friend awake. Hopping to her feet, she turned to the young man and squeaked.  
  
"No, Zia! Don't wake him up!" she hissed.  
  
Unfortunately, the man had already begun yawning, opening one eye lazily to look at the Kreetal. "What do you want now?"  
  
Zia squeaked again, sending him a visual message of Sakura crawling on the ground, wide-awake. Opening his other eye, he looked to where the girl slept. She was gone. Looking around, he spotted her struggling to stand up, trying desperately to get away.  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
"Stay away from me!"  
  
Li blinked. Not exactly the thanks he had in mind. Then, he started chuckling. She must have thought him some sort of kidnapper or something. Thinking this was very amusing to him.  
  
Confused, Zia flew to Sakura's shoulder, nuzzling her cheek.  
  
The additional weight of the Kreetal, though light, was too much for Sakura's weak body to bear. She began to fall.  
  
She squeezed her eyes shut, prepared for the pain she knew would come. Surprisingly, she felt none. Opening her eyes, her gaze was met with two eyes of a gorgeous chocolate brown color. With ease, Li had jumped up and caught her in his arms. Zia flew to his shoulder, looking at Sakura with a worried expression.  
  
With no energy left, Sakura gave up her attempts to struggle. She tried to glare at him, but to her surprise, found that she couldn't. Unwillingly, she found herself staring at his eyes, which seemed strangely familiar to her. Zia, sensing her friend's confusion, stared at her, concentrating.  
  
In an overwhelming wave, Sakura received the visual message from Zia. She saw a girl in a pink dress about 9 years old, herself she was surprised to discover. She was talking with that boy from the lake. The one that Zia seemed to like. The one with the chocolate brown eyes..  
  
"Li?" she heard herself say.  
  
"Your Kreetal apparently has a better memory than you do, Princess," he said gruffly. Zia chirped, pleased at the compliment. Looking back at Sakura, she sent her another wave of worried messages.  
  
"I'm fine, Zia," Sakura protested, trying once again to stand. Still unable to hold herself up, however, she fell back into Li's arms.  
  
"Yeah, right," he muttered. To her surprise and embarrassment, he lifted her off the ground and carried her back to the spot where she had been sleeping.  
  
"What are you doing here, anyway?" she asked him.  
  
Li shrugged. "The entire kingdom saw both the soldiers preparing for battle and that black storm cloud and freaked. We," he added, jerking his thumb at the girl still asleep by the tree, "got separated from our families. We didn't exactly want to meet whatever it was that was approaching, so we ran in here. Next thing I knew, that Kreetal of yours came barreling in. She recognized me, and asked for my help."  
  
"Oh. Well.um, thank you."  
  
Again, Li shrugged. Zia looked back and forth between Li and Sakura. Disappearing, she appeared in front of Sakura's face, squealing angrily, upset that she tried to use up her energy. Li coughed, waving the smoke away from his face.  
  
Looking up at him, Sakura asked, "What happened to me, anyway?"  
  
"From what I got from that thing," he began, pointing at Zia who was outraged that he called her a 'thing', "she used that vanishing trick hers to get you away from the storm cloud. Transporting such a large form as you takes up energy. I guess the whole thing drained you."  
  
"Yeah, I sort of figured that," she said tartly, breathing out a wearied sigh of exhaustion. To make sure she didn't try to get up anytime soon, Zia curled up on her stomach, watching her.  
  
"Stop looking at me like that!" she exclaimed defensively. "I'm not gonna get up, okay?"  
  
Zia chirped scoldingly, obviously not believing her.  
  
Scowling, Sakura laid back, closing her eyes.  
  
Li watched the two amusedly. As Sakura settled back to sleep, Li turned and sat back against the tree. Before he closed his eyes, he heard Sakura's soft voice.  
  
"Thanks again, Li."  
  
Li turned his head and looked at the Princess. He wasn't able to see her that well before due to the shadows. Now the patch of moss she lied in was draped in the pale sunlight of late afternoon.  
  
She certainly wasn't the scrawny little purebred he remembered long ago. She was most definitely anything but scrawny.  
  
She was unquestionably beautiful. Wisps of her coppery hair hung around her face. Strangely, Li had the greatest urge to brush them away, allowing him to see her delicate face more clearly. Silently, he scolded himself. After all, she wasn't exactly all that much prettier than even Meilin.  
  
Studying her, Li decided that, though she had the same physical qualities as the girl beside him, she possessed a certain innocence about her that made her strangely appealing to him. She didn't seem to be the same annoyingly flirtatious girl he knew Meilin to be. She seemed. more mature... more childlike. more.  
  
Again, he scolded himself. He shouldn't be thinking such things. Forcing these thoughts out of his head, he leaned his head back against the tree and quickly fell asleep.  
  
Zia opened one crystal blue eyes and observed Li curiously. Aware of his confusing emotions, she grinned softly to herself as she drifted back to sleep.  
  
"Retched boy!"  
  
Unable to find Tori, Kero returned to where Sakura was waiting for him, arms folded, a deep from set on his face.  
  
"Forgive me, Princess, but that brother of yours is undoubtedly the most obnoxiously stubborn-"  
  
Kero stopped speaking. He was positive he was at the right place. Yet neither the princess nor the Kreetal remained. Not even the tree was still there. or the hill. What remained was a deep crater where some sort of spell had exploded. Burnt fragments of wood lay scattered in and around the hole.  
  
"Princess!" Kero shouted, flying desperately into the crater, searching for any indications of life. His small eyes scanned the terrain, worried, briefly imagining the explosion occurring while the Princess was still .  
  
Kero shook his head, senses rattling back into reality. The princess is smart, and the Kreetal can sense a spell from a mile away. There's no way she would let anything happen to Sakura.  
  
Glancing briefly around him, Kero flew off in search of the princess, struggling to not let his fears overwhelm him as the night approached. 


	6. The Princess and the Pauper

Sakura groaned. Her weariness allowed her a peaceful night of sleep, but left her sluggish the next morning. She heard Zia chirp on top of her, nudging her head into her neck to get her up.  
  
"Zia, leave me alone. I don't want to get up, yet."  
  
"Well you had better get up!"  
  
Sakura's eyes opened abruptly at the new voice. Sitting up, she saw the girl with the black hair standing up against the tree, arms crossed, eyes flaring.  
  
"Oh, hello," she began politely. "I'm sorry to have-"  
  
"Save your sweet talk! You're obviously okay, so you can leave now."  
  
"What?" Sakura exclaimed, startled.  
  
Zia, outraged, winked out of the air, reappearing in front of the girl's face, hissing viciously.  
  
"You get away from me, you flying rat!" she spat angrily. "I'll be glad when the both of you are gone."  
  
"Wait a minute, why are you so eager for me to leave?" Sakura said, anger building. "This isn't your forest and you don't have the authority to tell me what to do! In fact, I-"  
  
"I don't care whether I have the authority or not. You've spent more than enough time with my Li, so you can just go on home."  
  
Standing up, Sakura clenched her fists at her side. "Who do you think you are? His mother? I have no idea what you are talking about, but you've obviously got something wrong cause-"  
  
"I'm not the one who's wrong if you think you can steal my Li away from me!" the girl shouted.  
  
"What are you talking about? I'm not taking him anywhere! And furthermore-"  
  
"Meilin!"  
  
The girl's face paled instantly as she spun around.  
  
"Li!" she gasped.  
  
"What do you think you're doing?" he demanded.  
  
Meilin stammered for words that would relieve her of his glare but failed. Winking in beside him, Zia squealed, explaining to him the girl's outburst. Eyes flicking from Zia to Meilin, Li's glare intensified.  
  
"You told her to leave?"  
  
"But Li, you did what you could, and she's fine now, so I thought-"  
  
"No, Meilin, you didn't think! Do you have any idea who she is?"  
  
Fear passing for anger, she stared defiantly at him.  
  
"Why are you standing up for her? Why should I care who she is? She's nothing more than an arrogant, air-headed, pig-nosed-"  
  
"-Princess of Falyndor," Li finished.  
  
Meilin froze, mouth agape, staring incredulously at Li. Slowly, her head swiveled around to look at Sakura. As if out of nowhere, only now did she notice the gold circlet pinned to her hair.  
  
"P-princess!?"  
  
Sakura crossed her arms as Zia zapped to her shoulder, looking extremely smug.  
  
"Look, it doesn't matter who I am. What does matter is that you totally snapped at me for absolutely no reason. I have no idea what kind of person you think I am, but I assure you I am neither air- headed or pig-nosed."  
  
Overwhelmed with shame and annoyance, Meilin threw a brief glare at Sakura before rushing into the forest, tears swelling from her eyes. Sakura watched her go, surprised. She glanced at Li.  
  
"What was that all about?"  
  
Li sighed- a sign Sakura interpreted as showing Meilin's outburst was anything but unusual.  
  
"Who knows? That girl has got so many major issues dealing with me, not even I understand her sometimes."  
  
Still confused, Sakura sat back down on the moss, breathing out a sigh. Misinterpreting this as an expression of fatigue, Zia jumped off her shoulder and flew around to her front, sending her messages of worry and concern. Sakura snorted, waving her hand exasperatingly.  
  
"Oh, stop it, Zia. I am just fine."  
  
Li smirked doubtfully. "Yeah right. Remember what happened last time you said that?"  
  
To Li's amusement, Sakura's cheeks flushed a slight pink color. Refusing to smile, he instead pulled out a sack that had hung by his side and deftly flung it to Sakura.  
  
Looking down at it, Sakura peered at him curiously. "What's this?"  
  
Sniffing the air cautiously, Zia suddenly whistled in delight, diving from Sakura's shoulder into the mouth of the bag. Her tail twitched excitedly as she back out, her find clenched tightly between her teeth- a large, purple-colored fruit.  
  
"Figured food would give you your strength back," Li replied, shrugging indifferently.  
  
Sakura looked up at him and smiled, an action that made his cheeks feel warm.  
  
"Thank you. That was really kind of you." For a moment, Li stared at her. Some of the thoughts from the previous evening had begun to drift back into his mind.  
  
While she turned back to the Kreetal and bag of fruit, Li was stunned to find his own cheeks burning slightly from the credit. Oblivious to this, Sakura reached into the bag and pulled out an oblong shaped yellow fruit that had a juicy, tangy flavor when she bit into it. She gave out a low squeal of delight, which Zia echoed.  
  
"These are delicious!"  
  
By the time Li had regained his normal facial color, Sakura had almost finished her fruit while Zia stuck her nose in the bag, searching for a second. Discarding the core, Sakura reached inside the bag and pulled out two pieces of fruit, one red and one green. To Li's surprise, Sakura held the green one out to him. "Here, would you like one?"  
  
Forcing himself not to flush a second time, which proved to be surprisingly difficult, he politely shook his head. "I've already eaten. Earlier this morning."  
  
Sakura giggled, a bit embarrassed.  
  
"Guess I was still asleep, huh?"  
  
Li nodded silently.  
  
Tilting her head to one side, she looked past him to the trees.  
  
"I wonder if that girl, Meilin, would like some."  
  
Li snorted, folding his arms. "She doesn't deserve it."  
  
"Nonsense," Sakura chided firmly. "It's not her fault she didn't know who I was. Besides, maybe she'll feel a little better about it if I apologized."  
  
Li looked down at her in amazement. "Apologize? For what? You didn't do anything."  
  
Shrugging, Sakura got up, leaving Zia to her third piece of fruit. "Maybe not, but it couldn't hurt to try."  
  
Li stared after her as she stood up, brushed the dust from her breeches, and walked calmly in the direction Meilin had run. Zia looked up as well, just now noticing her friend had left. Simultaneously, the two looked at each other, one baffled, the other looking undisturbed.  
  
"After everything that brat said to her, she still feels like being nice to her?"  
  
Zia's bland expression suggested this behavior was not abnormal. Such kindness, however, astonished Li, especially towards a person like Meilin. Looking back towards where now two girls had disappeared, Li shook his head. Turning towards the Kreetal, he held out his arm invitingly to her. "Come on. I've got to see this."  
  
Somewhat sluggishly, Zia flapped her wings, struggling to lift her bulging form to his arm.  
  
Li smirked. "Sure you had enough to eat?"  
  
Zia looked at him satisfyingly, licking her muzzle to clear the last of the juices.  
  
Chuckling at the little creature, Li shook his head and took off towards where the girls had gone, prepared for whatever may come from the confrontation.  
  
Following the sobbing sounds she assumed were from Meilin, Sakura was pleased to find the girl sitting on a mound of dirt, face buried in her hands. Quietly, Sakura walked forward, kneeling before the distressed young woman.  
  
"Are you hungry?"  
  
Meilin looked up, startled. Terror overcame her face as she recognized Sakura. She, in an attempt to settle her fear, smiled softly, extending the hand with the green fruit to her.  
  
Confused, Meilin looked down at the peace offering, then back at Sakura. Her smile widened. "I thought you might like something to eat," she explained.  
  
Meilin studied her expression carefully, searching for any indication of a lie or trick. Her familiar scowl returned to her face.  
  
"No thank you, Princess!" she replied roughly, applying rude emphasis on Sakura's title.  
  
Sakura recoiled, wincing at the sting of her words.  
  
"Idiot!" someone hissed quietly.  
  
Hidden from view by the shrubbery, Li smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand, cursing the woman under his breath. Zia, infuriated by Meilin's decline to the proposal for peace, was about to zap herself to Sakura's aid when her ears flicked behind her. Quickly, she spun her head around.  
  
Noticing the action, Li watched her curiously. "What do you see?" he whispered.  
  
Zia froze, not answering him. She didn't need to. A low growl behind him answered plenty.  
  
Li spun around. Unprepared for the response, Zia jumped into the air, squealing loudly as she darted around his head.  
  
The movement attracted both of the girls' attention as their heads swirled around towards the now visible Li. They saw him standing with his back towards them, Zia flitting around in the air above his head. He was facing an enormous creature, slow in movement as it emerged from the shadows.  
  
At first sight, one would think it was a lion. The creature possessed similar characteristics such as a short muzzle, small golden eyes, short tan fur and a long tail ending in a clump of light golden hairs that made it resemble a lion, despite the lack of a mane. After a second glace, however, anybody would notice one attribute that certainly distinguishes the beast from any normal lion- the wings. A set of massive white wings lay folded against his back. Their wingspan alone must have been at least ten or twelve feet long. Silver plates adorned with red jewels covered his head and shoulders.  
  
Li backed away slowly, hoping beyond belief to not startle the creature. Meilin, too shocked to scream, stared at the beast, shaking violently.  
  
Sakura, to Li's astonishment not afraid, stood up slowly, eyes never leaving that of the animal's. "Keroberos?"  
  
Suddenly recognizing the face of his princess, Keroberos stared at her in amazement. Li glanced back and forth between the creature and Sakura, unable to move or speak. Zia, looking at the guardian in a relieved manner, suddenly noticed a red stain on his underside. Alarmed, Zia twisted around, shrieking the discovery at Sakura.  
  
She gasped. "No!"  
  
A small grin slowly grew on his face. "Princess . I found you . at last ."  
  
Without the energy to continue standing, Keroberos collapsed on his side, exposing the severe flesh wound inflicted on his chest. Zia shrieked again in alarm as Sakura rushed to her friend's side.  
  
Regaining control of her voice, Meilin asked, "What is that thing?"  
  
Tears began to trickle down her face as Sakura replied quickly, "His name is Keroberos. He's my guardian. My . my friend. Keroberos, what happened?" Receiving no response, Sakura began to cry harder. "No! Keroberos, answer me! Why won't he answer me?" she asked desperately, turning to Li.  
  
Startled, he replied, "Uh, he probably just fainted. You really shouldn't worry so-"  
  
"Please, we have to help him. We have to! We can't let him die!"  
  
"He won't die," Li assured her, kneeling beside her to inspect the creature. "This wound isn't that serious. Using all his energy looking for you with an injury like that, though, is probably the reason for his exhaustion. Right?" he added, looking at Meilin inquiringly. Still trembling, she slowly joined the two.  
  
"H-he's right. The wound isn't severe enough to be fatal, but it could still be really harmful if it catches infection."  
  
"Please, is there anything you can do for him?" Sakura asked, looking pleadingly at Meilin. Accepting a smug expression, Meilin lifted her chin, smirking expertly.  
  
"Sure. I am, after all, the finest healer in the village!"  
  
Ignoring Li's groan and Sakura's grateful smile, Meilin leaned over her patient, instructing Li and Sakura to stay out of her way.  
  
Eyes brimming with tears held back, Sakura watched Meilin ordering Zia to bring her sack that was left by the clearing. After receiving a nod of approval from Sakura, Zia disappeared, the resulting smoke wafted away by Meilin.  
  
Li watched Sakura as she struggled to control the tears that threatened to pour down her face. He shifted uncomfortably. Seeing her so distressed disturbed him. He didn't like it when tears stained her beautiful face. Such true concern for a friend was foreign to him. Li realized the more he learned about this unique princess, the more he found himself admiring her.  
  
Wanting to do something to calm her, Li hesitated momentarily before lightly placing his hand on her shoulder. She jumped at the touch, so absorbed was she in worrying about Keroberos she had completely forgotten he was standing next to her. She looked up at him with such a pitiful face that Li felt his heart being torn inside him.  
  
"Uh. d-don't worry," he said, trying to sound supportive but not believing he succeeded. "Despite her boasts, Meilin is very good at her practice. Your friend is in good hands."  
  
"Are you sure?" she asked.  
  
Li smiled reassuringly. Such a rare occurrence that had Meilin noticed it she would have flown into another jealous outrage. "I promise," he said sincerely.  
  
Sakura sighed, managing to release most of the stress that had built up inside her. She looked up at Li and flashed him a meek smile. "Thank you."  
  
"Um. No problem." 


	7. A New Mission

"Sakura . Sakura!"  
  
Kero felt a soft hand holding his paw. "Don't worry, Kero. I'm right here."  
  
Cautiously, Kero opened his eyes. Sakura sighed with relief seeing him awake. Kero smiled meekly. "I see. And a lot bigger, too."  
  
Sakura laughed, nodding. "Meilin used a potion to help you relax while she was applying the healing spells. You were in such a deep sleep, you reverted back to your borrowed form."  
  
"Meilin?" Kero repeated.  
  
Sakura leaned to one side, giving Kero full view of the black-haired girl laying asleep against the tree.  
  
"Meilin used a lot to heal that wound of yours," A voice said.  
  
The two turned around, one smiling at the arrival of the young man while the other eyed the newcomer warily.  
  
"This is Li," Sakura explained. "He's a good friend of Meilin's. Actually, he's the boy I was with years ago that one time I was late for class."  
  
Kero snorted. "That doesn't help. I couldn't begin to name how many times you've been late for class!"  
  
Zia rolled her eyes, glancing at Li. Her expression was a tiring one, as if she were saying, 'He's back to his old self, alright.'  
  
Sakura giggled nervously. "Kero!"  
  
Ignoring her, Kero narrowed his eyes at Li. After a few moments, he snorted unpleasantly. "I remember you, now. If I'm not mistaken, you were the one who dared to call the Princess of Falyndor a spoiled purebred!"  
  
Before an argument could erupt, Sakura quickly turned to the Kreetal. "Hey Zia, why do you go show Kero where that bag of fruit was. He's gonna need food to build up his strength."  
  
Nodding obligingly, Zia flew to his side, and in a flash, they both vanished, the residue from the smoke settling on the grass.  
  
Li hid his smile of surprise. "You almost sound like I did this morning."  
  
Sakura glanced at him, eyes sparkling. "And the food obviously worked, didn't it?"  
  
"Guess so."  
  
Leaning down, Sakura proceeded to clear the remaining ingredients used in Meilin's potions. Li watched, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. He involuntarily rubbed the back of his neck, clearing his throat restlessly. "Um . P-princess?"  
  
Dusting her hands, she stood up, smiling at him brightly. "Please, don't bother calling me 'Princess.' I hate that. Just Sakura."  
  
"Oh, uh . Sakura . um ."  
  
Sakura cocked her head to one side, observing him curiously as he rambled on. "Yes?"  
  
"Uh . I just wanted to say sorry."  
  
"Sorry?"  
  
"Uh, yeah. For the whole. purebred thing."  
  
Sakura smiled, looking at him slyly. "A little late for that, isn't it?"  
  
Not sure of what to say, Li looked down at the ground, carefully studying the wrinkles in his leather boots. Sakura blinked, clearly not expecting such a sensitive side to what seemed like an unemotional person. Gently, she placed her hand on his shoulder. Slowly, his gaze drifted upward to meet hers. "Li, I've already forgiven you. long before today. Don't worry about it, okay?"  
  
Li hardly heard a word she said. So lost was he in her sparkling emerald green eyes he merely nodded, staring mindlessly. Reaffirming it with a nod of her own, she removed her hand and returned to her cleaning.  
  
"Good."  
  
Suddenly, Zia appeared between the two, facing Sakura. Li barely managed to contain his annoyance at the interruption as he growled, "Aren't you supposed to be with that guardian?"  
  
Ignoring his remark, Zia chirped at Sakura. Her head tilted slightly to one side as she listened. Briefly, she glanced up at Li. "Zia said Kero wants to talk."  
  
"What about?"  
  
Again, Sakura's attention reverted to the Kreetal who continued to repeat the message. During the conversation, Zia said something that made Sakura gasp. Her face paled instantly as she stared at her friend.  
  
"Sakura?" Li questioned. "What is it?"  
  
"M-my father," she stuttered.  
  
"The King?"  
  
Speechless, she nodded, still staring blankly at Zia. The Kreetal stopped its chattering, flying to Sakura's shoulder and rubbing her tiny head affectionately against the princess's cheek. Sakura sighed, just now realizing she had been holding her breath.  
  
"We have to get back to Kero," she said quietly, voice trembling.  
  
Nodding in silent agreement, Li glanced back at the sleeping form of the healer. "Do you think you can keep an eye on her?" he asked the Kreetal.  
  
Looking over his head to where Meilin lay, Zia chirped affirmation, leaping off Sakura's shoulder and gliding to a low branch over where she sat. Smiling gratefully at her friend, Sakura glanced at Li before heading towards Kero sat waiting, the young man directly behind her.  
  
The cores of three fruits lay beside the small guardian when Sakura and Li found him. His smile upon seeing the princess instantly disappeared as Li walked in right behind her. Recognizing the scowl all too well, Sakura looked sternly at Kero. "Don't you dare say a word! Li has as much of a right to hear whatever you have to say as I do."  
  
Snorting, Kero crossed his arms, muttering something under his breath. Finding reassurance in Li's brief glance, Sakura seated herself on the moss beside Kero, controlling the tears threatening to run down her cheeks. "Kero? What happened to my father?"  
  
Kero looked at the princess, concern filling his heart. Sighing, he made himself comfortable, refusing to look Sakura in the eyes, fearing his expression may betray the anxiety he sought to hide from her. Li stayed standing, leaning against the base of a tree, arms crossed as he watched Sakura and the guardian. Several moments of silence passed before Sakura whispered, "Kero?"  
  
Giving himself up to another sigh, he looked up slowly as he began. "I don't exactly know that much about it. King Aiden never really told me that much about it. He said it was to kept a secret, especially from you, but-"  
  
"Keep what a secret from me? The cloud?"  
  
Kero shook his head. "I'm afraid it's much more than a mere cloud. It's the essence of a very powerful being called Kain."  
  
"Kain?"  
  
"Yes. See, long ago there used to be a very powerful sorcerer who assisted the King's father in protecting the land. They were great friends and together, the kingdom lived prosperously.  
  
"The sorcerer would often teach your father magic, among other students. He was an efficient learner and a diligent worker. However, he wasn't the only one who was such a success at the art of magic."  
  
Sakura frowned, assuming she understood what he meant. "Kain was a student, too?"  
  
Kero nodded as he continued. "Yes. Kain was also proficient, though for much different reasons than to merely keep the kingdom safe, as the King did. Kain had long sought the power that the sorcerer had. However, once all that was needed was learned, Kain vanished. No one, at the time, thought anything of it."  
  
Li sensed a tone of regret in Kero's voice as he spoke.  
  
"So time had passed, and your father had come into rule. You were merely five years old when Kain returned."  
  
Though she had meant to remain calm, Sakura couldn't help gasping as a sudden thought ran across her mind. "I was five when my mother died!"  
  
Kero looked up at her, surprised. "Yes. That's true. Queen Natasha died of illness the year Kain had attacked the kingdom, although I'm not sure of any similarities between the two incidents."  
  
Sakura, her face pale, stared at the guardian blankly. Weakly, she begged him to continue.  
  
"A storm cloud identical to the one over the kingdom now had appeared in the sky that day, Kain emerging from it at the steps of the palace. I was instructed to watch over you and young Prince Tori during the invasion, so I'm only repeating information given to me. From what I understand, your father and Kain had had proceeded with a duel, a duel of magic. Your father studied under the same sorcerer as his predecessor, as did myself and Professor Julian."  
  
Still pale, Sakura said, "Your borrowed forms. both yours and the professor's. they were bestowed upon you by this sorcerer?"  
  
"Yes. He was a good man. He never expected Kain to actually be demon in human form, nor to use the magic he himself taught in such a wicked way."  
  
"A demon?"  
  
"Yes. Of the worst kind, may I add. See, all demons posses a form that is very similar to humans- not unlike my current form. Born with limited power, as well as this alternate form, Kain somehow managed to conceal all traces of this aspect from the sorcerer."  
  
"Didn't the sorcerer come to my father's assistance during the duel?"  
  
Kero shook his head sadly. "No one knew why. Whether some former argument had arisen between your father and him, I don't know."  
  
"I assume the duel resulted in my father's victory?"  
  
"Yes. Kain had been stripped of all power and banished to the far western islands upon a former pirate ship called the Ebony. To ensure Kain would never return, all the magicians and sorcerers of Falyndor, save my master, joined efforts in creating a barrier that would not allow the demon to pass through into the continent."  
  
"But I don't understand. How can Kain be back?"  
  
Kero shrugged. "Your guess would be as good as mine, Princess. All demons have the ability to absorb the power of other life forms, so it is assumed that must be the only method we know of that could have aided Kain's breach of the barrier."  
  
"And so my father and Tori are fighting that Kain right now."  
  
Kero sighed. "Unfortunately, no."  
  
"Unfortunately?"  
  
"During the demon's absence, Kain had managed to arrange a group of supporters. They are the one the royal army is defending against as we speak and the cause behind the wound you saw me with earlier. Kain will choose a time to attack the King directly that fits best to whatever plan that demon may have schemed."  
  
Her mind whirling, Sakura stood up, trembling with fear. "But, my father isn't as young or as strong as he was twelve years ago! Even with my brother's help, he couldn't possibly hope to defeat Kain!"  
  
"King Aiden is aware of this, which is why he asked me to take you and your brother away from the palace."  
  
"But that's ridiculous! I mean, I can help just as much as Tori! Why wouldn't he let me help?"  
  
"Princess, the reason he wanted you away from the Kingdom is to protect you! He doesn't want anything to happen to either you or Prince Tori, although your brother seems to fail to understand that concept," he added sourly.  
  
Sakura said nothing. She simply stood, trembling violently, staring blankly at the ground.  
  
"Princess?" Kero said, cautiously.  
  
"Kero, go check on Meilin," she commanded emotionlessly.  
  
"But Princess, isn't the Kreetal with-"  
  
"Just go!"  
  
Stunned at the request, Kero leapt into the air, floating slowly towards where Meilin and Zia were left. As he did, he passed Li, who had remained silent and motionless during the entire story. He glared at the young man, who did nothing to acknowledge the action. Snorting, Kero stole one last glance at Sakura before leaving.  
  
Sakura hardly noticed the guardian's departure. Too shocked was she by the prospect of her father in danger that she stared mindlessly at the ground, unable to keep her body from quivering.  
  
Lifting himself from his position against the tree, Li walked slowly towards the princess.  
  
"Sakura? Are you gonna be okay?" he asked softly.  
  
Sakura pulled her head up abruptly, turning swiftly to look at Li. He stopped.  
  
Never had he seen such an expression on anyone, much less the usually cheery princess. Her face was colorless, her eyes wide with fear. To see such a look on what used to be such a lovely face pained Li in a way he never knew possible.  
  
"Sakura?"  
  
Fear was exchanged for sadness as tears began flowing down her face. "I have to help him. I have to help my father."  
  
Suddenly, Li found himself involuntarily striding forward, grabbing Sakura's shoulders and shaking her vigorously. "Don't you dare, you idiot! You heard Kero! Kain's dangerous!" he said angrily.  
  
Sakura struggled to release herself from his grasp. "I don't care! I have to help him! Let me go!"  
  
"I'm not letting you go!"  
  
With more strength than Li assumed she possessed, Sakura pushed him away, succeeding in freeing one of her arms. Twisting her other arm gently yet forcefully, Li made her look at him, despite the teary glare she gave him in return.  
  
"Sakura, listen to me. Your father, he loved your mother a lot, didn't he?"  
  
Unable to move without injuring her arm, she replied angrily, "Of course he did! He loved her more than anything!"  
  
"How did he feel when she died?"  
  
Reminded of her father's agony, Sakura's intense glare subsided. "Her death nearly killed him."  
  
"Nearly, but it didn't. Then probably the only reason he stayed alive was for you and your brother."  
  
Sakura stared at him, not wanting to believe what she knew he was implying. Knowing she would not run, Li released her arm. "If anything were to happen to you, what makes you think he would have the will to stay alive this time?"  
  
She opened her mouth to say something, but then decided against it. Li continued.  
  
"You say you don't care if anything happens you? Well, that may be true, but what about everyone else that cares about you? You think that they would just forget you and go on with their lives? I can tell you this, I'm willing to bet my life that your father would never be able to live with himself know that both you and your mother were gone. and would never come back."  
  
"So what am I supposed to do, then?" Sakura whispered dejectedly, signs of weariness clearly being displayed. "Are you saying I just leave my father to his death?"  
  
Li shook his head, eyes never leaving Sakura's. "No. What I'm saying is you can't rush headfirst into this mess, expecting to save your father with any success. Such a foolish action isn't the only option you have."  
  
Sakura stared at him, her brows furrowed together in thought.  
  
Now, growing up with foolish girls such as Meilin and his sisters, Li didn't actually expect her to understand what he was implying. He simply paused to let the thought sink in, preparing to explain his idea anyway. However, to his great surprise, her eyes suddenly lit up as she looked at him, excitement ringing in her voice.  
  
"The sorcerer! The one that taught my father and Kain! He can help!"  
  
Li was stunned into silence, clearly shocked. Sakura, not noticing this, continued, the thrill of the idea obvious in her tone. "That sorcerer taught both my father and Kain, right? He's the only one who could defeat that demon! If not, then surely he would know of some weakness or something. Or maybe he has something we can use ourselves!"  
  
His admiration of the princess doubling, Li nodded, unable to resist grinning at her almost childish excitement.  
  
"We have to tell Kero!" she exclaimed. "He'll know where the sorcerer lives!" 


	8. Rough Start

Rubbing his chin in a way Sakura knew to show he was deep in thought, Kero floated in front of the princess, legs crossed. Li resumed his position leaned against a tree, arms folded over his chest, eyes watching both Kero and Sakura carefully. Zia sat contentedly on a branch inches above his head, watching the scene from her perch. Meilin sat on the ground, leaning against the same tree as Li, scowling sourly. Gently, she nudged his legs.  
  
"Why do we have to stick around?" she whispered harshly. "This isn't our business. We don't have to help them. We could just leave now, and stay out of all this."  
  
Wordlessly, Li looked sternly at Meilin. Figuring her arguments would be futile, Meilin sighed, looking back at the guardian.  
  
Watching the scene from above, Zia's mouth moved into what looked like a Kreetalian smile. a smug Kreetalian smile. She chirped softly to Li. He looked up at her, smiling.  
  
"What are you so happy about?" he asked curiously.  
  
Zia narrowed her eyes, an action which surprisingly made Li feel uncomfortable.  
  
"What?"  
  
Images began flooding to his mind from Zia. Sakura when she had fallen into his arms. Sakura when she lay asleep on the moss. Sakura when she was thanking him for bringing the fruit. Sakura's tearful face when she was watching Meilin heal Kero's wound.  
  
Zia stopped, pleased at the reaction her images had brought forth. Li's cheeks had flushed a soft pink as he realized how obvious his observation of the princess was to the Kreetal. Glancing briefly at Sakura, Li glared suspiciously at Zia.  
  
Zia, though a smug expression was plastered on her muzzle, assured him that Sakura was unaware of his feelings. Sighing, Li said in a hushed voice, "So you think you know my real reason for wanting to help her, do you?"  
  
Looking extremely satisfied with herself, Zia returned her attention to the princess and the guardian.  
  
Li snorted. "Yeah, whatever."  
  
Presently, Kero sighed, looking up at Sakura's anxious face.  
  
"Are you sure about this?"  
  
She nodded, praying silently that Kero would agree to the proposal. "Please, Kero? You're the only one who know where he lives, and he's the only one who could possibly help us."  
  
"But he didn't help your father the last time Kain attacked," Kero pointed out. "What makes you certain he would be willing to help, now?"  
  
"Well, we can find out the truth about why he stayed behind. Maybe he had a really good excuse," Sakura reasoned. "Whatever the reason, we have to at least try."  
  
"But-"  
  
"Come on, Kero!" she exclaimed impatiently. "I can't just sit here, doing nothing with the thought that my father is in trouble! This may be the only other way I can help both him and Tori!"  
  
Kero studied her face carefully. For a fleeting moment, he thought he saw her eyes look past him. Turning his head, he frowned seeing Li standing so casually. No doubt he will want to escort the princess to the sorcerer's quarters, Kero thought.  
  
Sighing, he turned to face Sakura, smiling weakly. "I guess I have no choice but to obey you, Princess."  
  
"Oh, thank you Kero!" Sakura exclaimed, scooping the startled guardian into her arms and embracing him tightly.  
  
Meilin frowned at the undignified behavior, glancing at Li for his approval. To her surprise, the corners of his mouth were upturned in the slightest smile. Fuming, Meilin glared back at Sakura, who by this time had released Kero and was facing her and Li.  
  
"You will come, won't you?" she asked hopefully.  
  
Meilin grunted, clenching her fists. Ignoring her, Li nodded.  
  
Sakura smiled. "Thank you so much. Both of you."  
  
Kero snorted, retrieving Sakura's attention once again.  
  
"Well, if we're going to go see my old master, we had better go now. We don't exactly have that much time."  
  
"You're right," Sakura agreed, turning to Zia and beckoning her to her arm.  
  
"Were does this sorcerer guy live, anyway?" Meilin asked.  
  
Kero regarded her for a moment before answering. "He lives in a small hall at the base of the Mordomir Mountains, probably about a three day journey from here."  
  
"Mordomir Mountains!" Meilin exclaimed, standing immediately. "But everyone knows that's. that's where the. dragons live! They eat people, in case you didn't know!"  
  
Kero smirked, displeased with the girl's lack of courage in comparison to the princess. "The dragons live among the cliff along the sides of the rock, closer to the peak where they aren't bothered by the humidity of the jungle around the base. They don't waste their time with him."  
  
Though still unconvinced, Meilin shut her mouth. Sakura looked at Kero apprehensively. "It'll take three whole days to get to his hall?"  
  
Kero smiled comfortingly. "Don't worry, Princess. Both your brother and the King, not to mention the royal army, have enough strength to last them that long." Frowning, Kero added in a more serious tone, "Kain will wait several days before attacking directly. The monster will want the King at his weakest, and, if anything, Kain knows better than anyone that, even despite his age, that time will come much later."  
  
With only minor discouragement, Sakura nodded, a look of determination settling on her face. Smiling confidently, she turned to the guardian.  
  
"Well, Kero. Lead the way!"  
  
"Ouch!"  
  
Meilin held her breath as she pulled another thorn from her bruised skin. Throwing it aside, she gathered her skirts and continued marching behind Li. Kero looked back at her mockingly.  
  
"Would it not be easier for you if you were to change into more suitable traveling clothes, such as the ones the princess wears?"  
  
Sakura looked down at her riding breeches and shirt. Looking up at Kero, she tilted her head to one side in curiosity. "You mean you actually packed stuff with you?"  
  
Kero nodded, pointing at the Kreetal that lay across her shoulders. "The King had prepared for this long ago, as soon as he received word of Kain approaching. He had the Kreetal store certain articles for you and Prince Tori when he had planned on sending the two of you away from the kingdom."  
  
"Zia can store stuff?" Sakura repeated, looking curiously at the creature.  
  
"Of course," Kero replied as if it were obvious. "See, when she transports from one place to another, she passes through something similar to an alternate dimension, though not quite. The King discovered this shortly after she was brought to you, and experimented on the capacity of the . well, nothingness. That pet of yours is capable of carrying quite an amount of an amazing variety of substances," he added approvingly to Zia's delight.  
  
Smiling, Sakura reached over and stroked her neck with the tip of her finger. Turning to look at Meilin, she asked kindly, "Would you like to change into something else?"  
  
Glowering, Meilin narrowed her eyes. "No thank you, Princess! I'm quite fine on my own." Sakura stared at her, startled. Zia, back arched, hissed furiously. Li frowned, shaking his head with disapproval. Ignoring him, Meilin jutted her chin out and strode passed them. Kero followed her movements, mouth agape. Suddenly struck with anger, Kero began to fly after her.  
  
"Hey! You can't talk to the princess like that!"  
  
Sighing, Sakura caressed Zia's back, soothing her into silence. "It's times like these when I really wish Kero would forget I was a princess."  
  
Standing beside her, Li snorted. "I just really wish Meilin would learn some manners. That girl is going to get herself in trouble someday because of that attitude of hers!"  
  
Giggling, Sakura began walking slowly towards where Kero and Meilin had disappeared with no hurry to catch them, Li joining her. "Well, it won't be by me, I promise. It wouldn't exactly be a good idea to get on the bad side of such a powerful healer as she is."  
  
Chuckling, Li shook his head. "Nah, you don't have to worry too much about that. Meilin may be stubborn, but she'll listen to me. to some extent, anyway. Why, I have no idea, but it certainly is a useful bonus, I suppose."  
  
Sakura laughed, agreeing heartily. "Well, then," she replied playfully, "I guess I don't want to get on your bad side, huh? Otherwise you'll sic Meilin on me."  
  
Li grinned, his eyes shining mischievously. "Maybe I will."  
  
Sakura laughed again, using her hand to attempt to stifle the noise. With her attention distracted, Li glanced briefly at Zia. She watched him eagerly, her eyes indicating she was thoroughly enjoying their exchange of friendly banter for a reason only she and Li were aware of.  
  
Suddenly, a high-pitched scream pierced the air, followed by a laugh.  
  
Li sighed. "Sounds like Meilin is already getting herself into trouble."  
  
Nodding, Sakura quickened her pace. "And it also sounds like Kero is the one delivering the trouble."  
  
Quickly, Sakura and Li found out what made Meilin scream and Kero laugh. In front of them sat a wide but shallow stream filled with clear blue-green water and water lilies dotting the surface. Meilin sat in the stream, not fat from the shore, completely drenched, a lily pad draped across her hair. Kero was on the ground, laughing uncontrollably.  
  
Taking one look at her, Li, too, broke out into laughter, quickly joining Kero on the ground. Sakura looked at Meilin piteously. Glaring back at the two delinquents still in hysterics, Sakura waded out to Meilin, offering her hand out to her.  
  
"Here, let me help you."  
  
"Stay away, Princess!" Meilin snarled, picking up her skirts and trudging past her. "I can take care of myself, thank you very much!"  
  
Sakura watched as Meilin emerged from the water, dripping wet. By now, Li and Kero had barely managed to control themselves. Seeing Meilin standing before them in her condition, they broke out in laughter again. Agitated, Meilin kicked them both roughly with her foot as she walked by and sat down on a overturned tree trunk around the bend, out of hearing distance, delicately removing her tunic and twisting the water out of it.  
  
Returning to the shore, Sakura stared disapprovingly at Kero and Li. "How gentlemanly of you two! To see a woman fall into a stream and not bother to help, but instead fall back laughing! Really!"  
  
The two stopped laughing and looked at each other, then back at Sakura, extremely embarrassed.  
  
"Sorry."  
  
"Forgive me, Princess."  
  
Placing her hands on her hips, Sakura frowned, looking menacingly between Li and her own guardian. "What happened, anyway?" she asked Kero.  
  
Kero shifted uncomfortably. "Well, after she left, as you know, I went after her. I was planning on telling her she can't just go around, acting so rudely towards you." Sakura rolled her eyes, but not noticing this, Kero continued. "She was walking pretty fast when I caught up to her. She tried to walk and yell at me at the same time, but she didn't see the stream and she fell in." After repeating the story, Kero began to chuckle in recollection. One stern look from Sakura, however, was all that was needed to silence him once again.  
  
"So," Sakura began, anger subsiding, "where do we go from here?"  
  
Jumping off the ground, Kero floated above the surface of the water and pointed upstream. "We have to follow this stream for about a day. It get wider and starts forming rapids around where we'll turn off."  
  
Nodding, Sakura glanced back at Meilin, still soaking wet. "We'll leave as soon as she's dried. In the meantime, I suppose it'll do us all good to rest here."  
  
As if signaling the end of the conversation, Zia vanished from Sakura's shoulder. Reappearing above the water's surface, she dived into the stream like a graceful acrobat, whistling joyously.  
  
Watching her, Sakura laughed, easing Kero and Li's tension. Lying back on the sand, Li folded his arms behind his head, his eyes observing Sakura and Zia's movements. Folding her breeches above her knees, Sakura removed her boots and sat among the reeds along the stream bank, dipping her feet into the cool water.  
  
"So tell me," Li began, turning to Kero. "Why did Kain want to attack King Aiden in the first place? What would be gained by overtaking the kingdom?"  
  
Kero grimaced, narrowing his eyes. "As if it's any of your busi-"  
  
"Actually, I was wondering the same thing," Sakura interrupted, looking both at Li and Kero curiously. Glaring briefly at Li, Kero turned to the princess in a more pleasant manner.  
  
"Well, as far as I know, Kain was, and still is, hungry for power. All demons are. The most powerful person in all of Falyndor is the King, but not because of the person himself."  
  
"What do you mean?" Sakura asked, confused.  
  
Kero rubbed his chin, looking down at the ground. "Well, you see, anybody can learn magic, right?"  
  
Sakura nodded, urging him to continue.  
  
"Well, in the same sense, anybody can learn very powerful magic. But, as King, there are some powers that only your father is capable of possessing."  
  
"Because he's King?"  
  
Kero nodded. "Precisely. By being declared King, he is recognized by the Kings of the past by bestowing upon him a great gift that only he or the one destined to be King may use."  
  
"What kind of gift?"  
  
"I don't know, exactly," Kero admitted. "No one does except the King. Tori might know of it, seeing as he's most likely to be the heir to the throne."  
  
"But what about Sakura?" Li spoke up.  
  
Sakura looked at him curiously. "What do you mean 'what about me'?"  
  
"Aren't you also entitled to the throne as much as your brother?"  
  
Sakura smiled, shaking her head. "No, not really. Generally, it's the firstborn's that are chosen as next ruler."  
  
Kero sneered. "I thought you would have known that. Afterall, it is common knowledge."  
  
Li shrugged, closing his eyes. "I guess you thought wrong."  
  
Kero jumped to his feet, eyes blazing. "What did you say, boy!?"  
  
"Just what you thought I said, Keroberos, guardian stuffed animal."  
  
"Why you little-"  
  
A violent hiss diverted his attention. Zia was standing in front of Sakura, head low, teeth bared. Kero smirked smugly. "Hah! Even the Kreetal doesn't like you!"  
  
Li wasn't listening to Kero. He was staring at Zia. Her eyes held more than mere annoyance. Much more. They held fear.  
  
Slowly, Li stood up. "She's not hissing because of me," he said slowly. He looked at Sakura. Her facial expression told him she saw the same thing he did- something else was bothering Zia. She looked up at him.  
  
"Something's coming." 


	9. The Power of the Princess

"Something's coming."  
  
Li nodded. Turning, he looked in the direction Zia was staring at. She seemed to be hissing in the same direction they had originally came. Looking, however, Li could spot nothing that seemed unusual. He glanced back at Zia.  
  
"What do you see?" he whispered.  
  
Colors began whirling in his mind. Judging by Sakura's expression, Li could tell she was receiving the same confusing messages he was. Concentrating, he tried to see if he could find anything that looked solid in the swirl of colors.  
  
"Li! Duck!" Sakura cried.  
  
Without hesitation, Li dodged Zia's claws as they flew over him. "What the-"  
  
Before he could finish, Sakura dashed forward, grabbing his arm and pulling him away from the Kreetal. Spinning around, he saw Zia's purpose for the jump.  
  
Zia was locked into battle by another creature. It somewhat resembled a Kreetal, but without the long bushy tail and wings. The beast was white in color with clear blue eyes and smooth, glossy fur. A blue jewel rested on its forehead between the two ears. Its tail was the length of its body, though not the elegantly fluffy tail Zia had, but rather slender and sleek. The creature, deftly dodging all of the Kreetal's attacks, had amazing speed and reflexes, never allowing time for Zia to inflict any damage.  
  
Sakura watched the battle with wide eyes. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to warn you sooner," she explained quickly. "By the time I had made sense of the blurred mess she sent me, she was already in the air."  
  
"We'll have time for apologies later," Li replied. "But in the meantime, what in the world is that?"  
  
"I have no idea," Kero said softly, flying over the two opponents to where Sakura and Li stood.  
  
"We can't just stand here watching that thing tear Zia up!" Sakura exclaimed.  
  
"Don't worry, Princess," Kero said reassuringly, patting Sakura's shoulder. "You and I both know the Kreetal can take care of herself."  
  
"No."  
  
Kero whirled around, glaring at Li. "What do you mean no!?"  
  
"If this keeps up, Zia won't stand a chance," Li said firmly, eyes locked on the fight. "The creature is too fast. She can hardly move without becoming vulnerable to that thing's attacks."  
  
"What can we do?" Sakura asked, looking hopefully at Li.  
  
Li narrowed his eyes, watching the battle carefully. "We have to find some way to imprison the creature, or keep it from moving. Without it's speed, Zia will have the advantage." Without warning, Li took a step forward, reaching inside his shirt and removing what looked like a red ribbon. Sakura looked at the ribbon, then back at Li.  
  
"Li, what are you-"  
  
"Shh," he said softly, holding his fingers to his lips. Glancing back at the princess, he smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. I'll take care of it."  
  
Still confused, Sakura nodded, trusting him. Turning back around, Li closed his eyes, holding the ribbon in his fist in front of him.  
  
"So, is he going to defeat the creature with a hair ribbon?" Kero scoffed.  
  
Sakura glared at him, silencing him instantly.  
  
When she looked back at Li, the ribbon was glowing. Before she had time to gasp, the light took shape, reforming into a sword. The hilt was gold with a single black stone in the center. Two ribbons of the same red coloration as the original hung from the base.  
  
Suddenly, out of nowhere, in his hand appeared a faded piece of yellowed paper. Sakura thought she saw some sort of inscriptions on it, but could not tell, for her threw it up into the air. Pushing the flat side of the sword into the incantation paper as it floated down, he opened his eyes, staring at Zia and the strange creature.  
  
"Element wind! Come to my aid!"  
  
Immediately, the inscriptions on the paper began glowing as rapid gusts of wind emerged from it. Like a storm blast, the wind swept across the grass to the creature, encircling the creature like a twister.  
  
Li resisted the urge to praise himself. He glanced at Sakura to, seeking her approval. He instantly stopped smiling, confused.  
  
He had expected her to be amazed, congratulating him and such. She didn't look at all amazed. Mouth agape, she pointed back at where he had commanded his winds to capture the creature. He spun around.  
  
Instead of becoming imprisoned, like Li had hoped, the creature now began running around with the cyclone! Faster and faster it ran until it seemed the spell could not keep up. With one final ear-piercing scream, the creature leapt out of the tornado as it disintegrated into nothing and landed squarely on the grass, now only a few feet away from where Li and Sakura stood.  
  
Scowling, Li held his sword in front of Sakura, crouching low in a fighter's stance. The creature hissed furiously, prepared to seek revenge for the one who tried to imprison it.  
  
Sakura glanced at Zia. The poor Kreetal, bruised and exhausted, struggled to stand on her feet to try and protect Sakura.  
  
Seeing her friend hurt, Sakura slowly turned back to the creature, the fury raging inside her gradually rising to its peak. "How dare you," she whispered, voice rising as the rage built up. "How dare you? How dare you!? HOW DARE YOU!?!"  
  
Li turned to look at her, bewilderment completely washed all over his face. Before he could stop her, Sakura walked past him, stopping about two feet away from the creature.  
  
"You'll pay for attacking my friends!"  
  
Accepting the challenge, the creature crouched and sprung into the air.  
  
"Sakura!"  
  
Before Li could say anymore, Sakura swept her hand in front of her, the spell causing the creature to stop in mid-air.  
  
"That is quite enough of that!" she said sternly.  
  
Suddenly, to Li's amazement, the creature stopped hissing. Instead, it looked at Sakura thoughtfully, almost curiously, as if it were wondering how such a person could control it. Li's mouth dropped at the sight, as did Kero's. When, Li thought, did she ever learn to use magic like that?  
  
Still frowning but more under control, Sakura held her hand out in front of her. Slowly, she lowered her arm, making the creature descend as well.  
  
Now, Li was beyond speechless- he was purely stunned. Not only was the creature watching Sakura like a child watching its parent, but also, simultaneously with landing on the ground, it sat down like a well- trained pet. Its blue eyes sparkled with fascination.  
  
Still maintaining her authoritative air, Sakura looked up at Zia, who had collapsed in her efforts to reach her. Noticing her gaze fell elsewhere, the creature looked back. Seeing Zia in her state, the creature looked cautiously back at Sakura, ears drooping.  
  
Assuming that was the creature's method of apology, Sakura smiled comfortingly. "Don't worry. I forgive you," she said soothingly. "Just make sure you don't attack my friends for no reason anymore, okay?"  
  
Ears perking again, the creature bobbed its head up and down eagerly. Sakura laughed.  
  
Shaking his head out of his trance, Li closed his gaping mouth and walked slowly towards Sakura. "What the heck did you do to it?"  
  
As if just noticing his presence, the creature looked at him, blinking. Slowly, it looked equally at both him and Kero. Finally returning its gaze on Sakura, the creature stood up and lowered its head, almost like a bow. Gracefully, Sakura returned the gesture.  
  
As she looked up again, she was surprised to find the creature had disappeared. Her head swung around in different directions as she tried to find it again. Instead of spotting the creature, however, she saw Zia, still on the ground. Without another thought, she rushed forward, cradling the Kreetal in her arms, the movement causing her eyes to slowly flutter open. Sakura smiled.  
  
"Zia, how are you?"  
  
Whistling softly, the Kreetal managed to turn her head and lick Sakura's arm. Sakura laughed quietly. "You silly little idiot. You can't just hop into danger like that and expect to come out victorious. What were you thinking?"  
  
A chuckle behind her aroused her attention from the Kreetal.  
  
"If anything, you're the silly idiot," Li said, leaning beside her and rubbing Zia's head with his index finger. "You would do well to listen to your own advice, Princess."  
  
Sakura glared defiantly at him. "At least I had more of an effect on that creature than she did!"  
  
Zia chirped in protest. Li smiled, rubbing her stomach with his finger until she settled down.  
  
"Don't worry, little one. You did a splendid job," he said soothingly. Eying Sakura, he added, "So you did. Where did you learn such magic, anyway?"  
  
"As a princess, she is required to learn magic," Kero spoke up. Looking sternly at Sakura, he added, "Though she might have learned much more had she not been late to so many classes."  
  
Blushing, Sakura looked away from her guardian. "Uh, Kero, why don't you go get Meilin? She'll need to take a look at these wounds."  
  
With a devious grin, Kero flew off. Li watched him as he left. "I wonder if that smirk was intended for you or Meilin," he mused.  
  
Shrugging, Sakura situated herself so she could sit cross-legged on the grass with Zia cuddled in her arms. Sitting next to her, Li continued to stroke the Kreetal's head.  
  
"So where did you learn your magic?" Sakura asked. "Magic swordsmen aren't exactly all the plentiful in supply."  
  
Li shrugged, frowning slightly. "My mother made me."  
  
"She made you?"  
  
Li laughed, surprised by her startled look. "You're surprised?"  
  
Sakura's cheeks turned pink as she quickly explained, "Well, I never really thought of you as the type of person that could made to do. anything."  
  
Laughing again, Li planted his hands behind his head and leaned back, staring up at the sky. "That's true for everybody except my mother. Our family has always been known for having very powerful magic users. No one can ever be considered weak. It's practically not allowed. So-"  
  
"-by becoming a magic swordsman, which is among the hardest positions to obtain, your mother figured you'd be at the top. and pretty much stay there, huh?" Sakura finished.  
  
Sighing, Li nodded. "Pretty much. I've been trained in the art of sword magic ever since I was seven. My mother thought-"  
  
"Wow!" Sakura exclaimed, surprised. "Ever since you were seven? How old are you?"  
  
"Nineteen," he replied, amused at her surprise.  
  
Sakura emitted a low whistle. "Wow, not even some of the guards in the court have trained that long. That's amazing!"  
  
Li grinned. "Wish it were half as much fun as you make it seem. With my mother pressuring me to work so hard at it, all the fun is sort of zapped out of my training sessions."  
  
Sakura tweaked her head to one side she often did. "Your mother?"  
  
"Don't get me wrong. I love my mother a lot. It's just she expects so much from me all the time. I never have any time for myself, you know? To do any of the things I might take interest in." Unconsciously, Li found his gaze drifting toward Sakura as he talked. She watched him curiously as he spoke. Quickly, he averted his attention back to the sky.  
  
"So I take it, despite the fact that you must miss your family, you're enjoying this excursion, then?" Sakura asked slowly.  
  
Glancing at Zia from the corner of his eyes, Li smiled. "Yeah, I guess you could say that."  
  
"And I'm certainly very grateful to you for helping me out, you know," Sakura added.  
  
Li closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath of the fresh air. "Like I said before, it's no problem."  
  
Looking back down at Zia, Sakura smiled. "At any rate, I'm sure your mother would be very proud of you for assisting both the King and the Princess of Falyndor, not to mention the rest of the kingdom itself once we get help from the sorcerer and defeat Kain."  
  
"Assuming the sorcerer even decides to help us, I suppose she would," Li replied, not thinking of his own words.  
  
Sakura glanced at him, somewhat startled, before lowering her head to her chest. "He has to," she whispered. "He just has to."  
  
Li opened his eyes and looked at Sakura as she began to involuntarily tremble, compassion overtaking his heart.  
  
"If he doesn't help us," Sakura began, "then. then the kingdom. Kain. Tori. my father."  
  
"Hey, don't think like that," Li said softly, placing his hand on her arm. Looking slowly at his hand, Sakura pulled her head up to look Li in the eyes. Surprised at the bold move himself, he merely smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. Even if that sorcerer won't help us, we'll find some way to help your father."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"I promise."  
  
Sakura smiled meekly, gratitude fully expressed in her eyes. Looking down at Zia, who had remained silent the entire time, Li was surprised to see her watching him, her eyes narrowed in a way he knew to represent the true meaning behind his words. Removing his hand, he narrowed his eyes right back at the Kreetal.  
  
"What are you staring at?" he said, challenging the beast with his voice and stare.  
  
Zia smiled, closing her eyes as she settled herself comfortably in Sakura's arms.  
  
"I found her!" Kero exclaimed, flying into the space between Li and Zia. Li hesitated, not sure whether he was annoyed at the interruption of grateful for the distraction from the Kreetal, before he turned to the guardian.  
  
"What took you so long?"  
  
Kero spun around, an awestruck expression on his face. "Can you believe the woman was sleeping during the entire ordeal? Do you have any idea how difficult it is to get her up?"  
  
Li rolled his eyes, unable to resist grinning. "As a matter of fact, I do. She sleeps in the fields while the rest of us are working all the time."  
  
Snorting, Kero turned back to Sakura, who was giggling at Li's comment. "Anyway, I explained to her everything that happened while she was off in dreamland and-"  
  
"LI!!!!!"  
  
Groaning, Li turned to see Meilin running towards him, gasping for air. "Oh, Li! I heard what happened! Are you hurt? If that monster harmed you, I'll-"  
  
"-do absolutely nothing," Li snapped irritatingly. "I am completely fine. It's Zia that needs the help."  
  
"What do you think I have been trying to tell you, woman!?" Kero said irritably. "You didn't even listen to a single word I said!"  
  
Meilin waved him away from her face, walking around and studying Zia's wounds. "Wow, she's really torn up!"  
  
"No kidding," Li muttered.  
  
Looking up at him, she asked, "What happened, anyway?"  
  
"Ugh!" Kero exclaimed, preparing to argue yet again about her not listening. Sakura held her hand up, blocking him from her.  
  
"Kero, why don't you go get some water? She'll probably need it to clean Zia up."  
  
Muttering something under his breath, Kero left obediently, not noticing Meilin's tongue stuck out at him. Li groaned again, slapping his hand against his face.  
  
"So? What happened?" Meilin demanded, looking back and forth between Sakura and Li.  
  
Exchanging glances, Sakura began to explain what had happened while she had fallen asleep while Li assisted in mixing healing herbs for Meilin. By the time Sakura had finished, Zia's left wing had been wrapped gently against her back and her right forepaw bandaged to just below the elbow. Despite these injuries and the minor cuts and scrapes received during the battle, the Kreetal had not taken any serious damage.  
  
Dusting her skirt, Meilin looked back and forth between Zia and Sakura. "That wing isn't broken, but the hide between the bones is torn. From what I've heard, Kreetal's are capable of healing themselves pretty quickly, so the bandage shouldn't be on for much more than a day or two at the most. But," she added, staring fiercely at Zia waggling her finger at her chidingly, "if you want to be able to fly again, I had better not catch you at all in the air until I say those bandages can come off or I'll personally make sure you won't fly again!"  
  
Nodding obediently, Zia whistled cheerfully, vanishing from her position in front of Meilin and appearing again of Li's shoulder. Sakura smiled gratefully at Meilin. "Thank you so much. You really did a wonderful job!"  
  
Meilin shot a dark glance at Sakura before standing up. "Of course I did. I am the best, afterall."  
  
Paying no attention to Li's moan, Meilin walked to the bank, leaning down to wash her hands. Joining Sakura, he glanced at her bewildered face. "You know you're never going to win against her."  
  
Sakura sighed. "Maybe you're right. That girl is just plainly too stubborn for me to even try to befriend."  
  
"Told you so," Li muttered, grinning satisfactorily at the annoyed reaction Sakura produced.  
  
"Well?" Meilin shouted, hands on her hips, glaring at Li, Sakura, and Zia. "What are you waiting for? Do you want to reach that sorcerer before that stupid demon kills your dad or not?"  
  
Nodding, Sakura joined Meilin, Kero flying behind her and Li, with Zia, behind him. Soon, they all were moving in a single file line, Kero taking the lead and Li taking the rear. They remained moving this way for hours, resting occasionally along the banks when clear enough to do so, until the sun began to fade behind the peaks of the much closer mountains. Exhausted, Meilin all but collapsed on the grass.  
  
"I can't go on another step. We've been practically been walking all day!"  
  
"Stop your complaining, woman!" Kero snapped. "We're stopping her for the night, anyway!"  
  
Too tired to glare, Meilin merely sighed. Giggling, Sakura turned to Zia, still perched on Li's shoulder. "Do you have any sleeping mats?"  
  
Eyes glistening, Zia chirped a confirmation before she disappeared. Li coughed, wafting the smoke residue from his face. "I really wish she'd jump before she did that," he growled.  
  
Before Sakura could respond, Zia returned, sitting comfortably on three tanned sleeping mats accompanied by three thick blankets. Not waiting for Zia to move, Meilin dove at the first mat and blanket pair, leaving a very angry Kreetal shrieking at her from her renewed position on Li's shoulder. Ignoring her, Meilin all but threw herself upon the mat, pulling the blanket up to her chin.  
  
Frowning, Li was about to scold her rudeness when he felt Sakura holding him back. She smiled softly, watching as Meilin quickly drifted to sleep.  
  
"She's okay. She's just really tired. Besides," she added, looking up at Li, "she healed both me, Kero, and Zia. If anything, she deserves to be the first to rest."  
  
Still doubtful of her decision, Li looked back at Meilin. "I guess so," he remarked after several seconds of consideration.  
  
Glad she managed to get Li to understand, Sakura turned to Zia.  
  
"So, what else do you have?" 


	10. Feelings through the Flames

Fifteen minutes later, Li and Sakura sat before a roaring fire, feasting on meatrolls and leftover fruits from earlier that day. Kero lay curled on Sakura's pallet, snoring softly. Watching him, Sakura suddenly looked at Li.  
  
"Where did Zia go?"  
  
As if on cue, Li didn't have to answer as the Kreetal blinked in beside Sakura, a silver and emerald adorned held carefully in her jaws. Sakura squealed in delight.  
  
"Zia, you brought my brush? Thank you so much!"  
  
Taking the brush in one hand, she rubbed the top of Zia's head gratefully. Setting the treasure in her lap, she pulled her long braid around her shoulder to in front of her and began to unwind the locks of hair. Succeeding hardly a minute later, she took the brush and proceeded with running through her long, coppery hair. In the flickering light of the fire, it shined a golden color, the light almost dancing on the strands.  
  
Lying on his side, Li propped his head on his hand as he watched her. To him, she seemed almost like an angel- so kind, compassionate, and beautiful- almost too good to be true.  
  
Li sighed, smiling secretively in spite of himself. Never had he seen such a beautiful woman as Sakura. He found himself drifting into a daydream and he was wishing he could stroke her delicate skin. Wishing he could run his fingers through her hair. Wishing he could wrap his arms around her, claiming her for his own.  
  
The flames snapped and crackled in the background.  
  
Wishing he knew what her lips tasted like.  
  
Sakura giggled at Zia's cute antics on her lap.  
  
Li blinked, thinking curiously. He knew he liked Sakura. Both he and Zia knew it, he admitted to himself. But to go as far as to wish he could kiss her? These feelings were unfamiliar to him. He never liked anyone the way he like Sakura. Was he supposed to feel like this?  
  
Sakura laughed out loud, her bright smile radiating her delight.  
  
Then again, he thought, he had never met anyone anything like Sakura.  
  
Twisting onto his back, Li stared up at the night sky, thinking to himself.  
  
Not that he never had to undergo the opportunity to experience what it was like to fall for someone, he reminded himself. Meilin wasn't the only girl who had seeked his attention before. Grimacing, he thought of the many girls who fought daily for his 'assistance' with meager chores and excursions to the market, all for the chance to grab his attention. They seemed to him more like a pack of bloodthirsty wolves, all fighting among each other for the same prey.  
  
Li turned his head. Sakura was still brushing her hair.  
  
Funny, he mused, how his good looks and charm had unwillingly attracted nearly every unmarried woman in the village, yet, at the same time, he could hardly get the one girl he seeked attention from to look at him more than twice. Was the fact that claiming her would actually pose as a challenge to him the reason he found her so desirable?  
  
No, he told himself firmly. He knew he wasn't that shallow, and Sakura wasn't the type of person that seeks out others just because of their physical appearance. She's not like the frightening pack of girls back home, he thought. Such a rare quality he's never seen before in a girl. Everything about her was unlike anything he'd ever seen.  
  
Satisfied with his conclusion, Li smiled.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
Startled, Li sat up quickly, whipping his head around to Sakura. She was finished with her brush and her hair was again tied back into a braid. She and Zia were watching him curiously, although Sakura didn't have the same sly look in her eyes as the Kreetal had.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
Sakura giggled. "Where have you bee? I've been trying to ask you if you wanted a redfruit for the last full minute."  
  
Li felt his cheeks flush, and fervently prayed the light of the fire hid the crimson color as he nodded.  
  
"Sorry."  
  
"That's okay," Sakura reassured him, handing him the fruit.  
  
"Thanks," he replied, taking the fruit and looking briefly at it before he bit into it, savoring the juices rushing through his mouth and tickling his tongue.  
  
Sakura watched him as he consumed the food, biting back a laugh seeing redfruit juice staining the sides of his cheeks. Li looked at her, confused.  
  
"What?"  
  
This time, unable to hold it back, Sakura broke down, laughing hysterically.  
  
"What?" Li repeated.  
  
"You have. have juice. on your face!" Sakura managed.  
  
Embarrassed, Li hastily rubbed at his cheek, but in vain, for he only managed to further smear the juice across the side of his face. Laughing even harder, Sakura tried desperately to control herself. Li frowned.  
  
"I don't think it's so funny," he muttered grumpily.  
  
Regaining her breath, Sakura smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh so hard, honest."  
  
In an extreme effort to make up for the harm she believed she caused, Sakura leaned over and brushed the juice off with the side of her hand.  
  
Li froze, hardly daring to breathe. Her skin felt like silk against his own. His eyes closed softly, his whole body aware of the gentle caress.  
  
If he had an entire pitcher of redfruit juice available, Li would have poured it over his head if it had meant the moment would have lasted longer. He found, to his surprise, he had to bite his lip to keep from protesting when she removed her hand at last.  
  
Opening his eyes, he saw Sakura looking at him satisfied.  
  
"There, got it all."  
  
Li furrowed his brows, hesitating before he said, "Sakura?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Why are you always so nice to everybody?"  
  
Sakura blinked, tilting her head to one side. "What do you mean?"  
  
Li bit his lip, starting to wonder why he asked in the first place. "Well, you're always kind to Meilin, even though she-"  
  
"Aw, come on," Sakura interrupted in a mock chide, "haven't we been through this, already?"  
  
"Well, yeah, but Meilin's not the only one," Li remarked hesitantly. "You're like that all the time with everyone. With Kero. With Zia. Even that creature Zia fought with today. Even. me."  
  
"Is that a bad thing?"  
  
"No, no!" Li insisted, waving his hands emphatically. "Not at all."  
  
Sakura frowned. "I don't understand."  
  
Li sighed, beginning to become frustrated with himself. "How do you do that, though? No one I have ever met. I don't know, can deal with some of the stuff you do without blowing up. But you don't ever seem to be disturbed."  
  
Sakura smiled slowly, looking down at the flames as her eyes glazed over in recollection. "My mother had always said to be kind to all who need kindness."  
  
Li winced, noticing the pain in her eyes as she spoke of her mother. His gaze wandered to the fire as well.  
  
Tears began to silently trail down Sakura's face. Surprised, she glanced at Li. Apparently he hadn't noticed, for he was staring at the fire, unmoving. Wiping them away, Sakura stood up and walked to her sleeping mat, gently pushing Kero to one side as she crawled under the covers. As she laid her head on her pillow, she felt movement as Zia winked in beside her, curling into a ball against her back that faced the flames.  
  
"I'm sure you mother was a wonderful person."  
  
Sakura froze. Quietly, she turned her head to look at Li. He was still staring at the fire, his expression unreadable. Slowly, the corners of her mouth turned upward in a small smile.  
  
"Yes. She was the most wonderful person in the world."  
  
"I can think of someone else to fit that description," Li whispered to himself, watching Sakura out of the corner of his eyes as she turned back around and began to drift to sleep.  
  
Li sat alone, watching the flames for several minutes before a sweet voice broke the silence.  
  
"Good night, Li."  
  
He smiled. "Good night, Sakura." 


	11. A New Hero?

The next morning, Li woke to the smell of eggs and meatrolls. Yawning, he sat up, lazily rubbing at his eyes.  
  
"Well, good morning!" Sakura said cheerfully.  
  
Turning, Li saw the princess hovering over a small fire. In her hands she held a plate of meatrolls and freshly cooked eggs while in her other, a spatula regularly poked at the food above the flames.  
  
"Morning. Where did you get those?" he asked, pointing at the eggs.  
  
"Zia found them in a nest a little way down the stream," Sakura replied, tilting her head towards where the Kreetal sat, grooming herself.  
  
Looking around, Li saw Meilin and Kero still lay fast asleep. Standing, he arched his back before walking to where the food sat. Grabbing a meatroll, he took a bite, chewing carefully to test the flavor. Sakura giggled, resting her cheek on her hand, amused with watching him.  
  
"Well? Is it satisfactory to your liking?"  
  
Li closed his eyes dramatically, chewing slowly. "Mmmm. I don't know," he replied teasingly.  
  
"Oh really?" Sakura returned, taking his bait.  
  
"Mmm hmm. It's hard to tell. I've tasted some really exquisite gourmet food before, you know."  
  
"Very well," Sakura replied nonchalantly. Before Li could protest, Sakura swiped the remainder of the meatroll from his hand. "If you don't think it's worthy enough for you to eat, then I'll just take it back."  
  
"Hey, wait!" Li exclaimed. "Hey, I was just joking! Give me back my meatroll!"  
  
Sakura smirked, tossing the roll into his hand. "You're such a baby."  
  
Popping the meatroll into his mouth, Li grinned boyishly. "I'm no baby. I just get hungry when I wake up in the morning."  
  
"Right," Sakura echoed sarcastically, smiling.  
  
A low groan indicated Kero's awakening. Slowly, the guardian came to life, hovering slowly towards where Sakura was, sniffing the air warily.  
  
"Is that. food?" he asked, eyes snapping open.  
  
Suddenly without warning, Kero dived into the plate, scarfing down half the meatrolls before Sakura could pull him away.  
  
"Kero!" she scolded, holding him in front of her face. "Other people have to eat, too, you know!"  
  
"Well, yeah," Kero muttered guiltily, wings drooping, "but. I didn't mean. well, I'm just hungry, that's all."  
  
"So are the rest of us, Kero!"  
  
Li smirked, forcing Kero to glare back at him. Sakura, noticing the silent battle between the two, rapped both of them on the back of their heads.  
  
"You two stop it," she scolded. "Li, you go wake Meilin. Kero, you help me heat up some more meatrolls."  
  
Solemnly, the two went off, not wanting to further upset the princess. Minutes later, the three teenagers, guardian and Kreetal sat scattered around the fire, cheerfully eating the food Sakura had prepared. Kero smiled, hold up an end of a yellowfruit.  
  
"This is great, Princess!"  
  
"I'm glad you like it."  
  
"It's okay," Meilin muttered. Li nudged her stomach with his elbow. "Ow!"  
  
Standing up, Sakura leaned over Zia and grabbed a bathing sheet and a dry towel.  
  
"I'm going to go wash up real fast," she announced, walking downstream. "I'll be right back." Zia, from her seat next to Li, whistled, blinking out and back in on Sakura's shoulder. The princess smiled.  
  
"Are you going to scrub my back?" she whispered.  
  
The Kreetal nodded, squeaking to emphasize the motion. Giggling, Sakura walked until she found a quiet, secluded spot hidden from view by the trees. Quickly, she stripped herself and wrapped the bathing sheet around her body, slipping quietly into the warm water.  
  
"Mmmm, this feels good," she whispered to herself.  
  
A splash behind her indicated Zia's entrance. The Kreetal swam in circles around her, using her tail to propel her forward.  
  
Sakura laughed. "What are you doing, silly?"  
  
Zia popped her head above the surface, chirping that she would like to play a little.  
  
"Come on, Zi. We had better make this quick so we can get going again."  
  
Squeaking her disappointment, the Kreetal winked out, reappearing a second later with a wash scrub in her mouth. Swimming to her front, she deposited the scrub into Sakura's hands before disappearing again, this time returning with a small bar of soap. Rubbing these together, Sakura managed to produce a thick lather with which she scrubbed herself vigorously.  
  
As she bathed, Zia resumed her swimming, darting around the stream bottom like she was born in it. To Sakura's delight, she even leapt out of the water several times, flipping in the air like she was a dolphin.  
  
Soon, Sakura had washed to her satisfaction. Allowing Zia to return the items to their proper storage place, Sakura began to swim to the shore.  
  
***  
  
Elsewhere, Li was throwing a bucket of water over the fire when he felt it. Looking up abruptly, he narrowed his eyes over the surface of the water. Kero found himself doing the same.  
  
"What is it?" Meilin asked, recognizing Li's expression.  
  
Li remained silent, still staring at the calm water.  
  
"I sense something," Kero said quietly.  
  
"Something in the water," Li added.  
  
"In the water?" Meilin repeated, watching the ripples flowing in the water where a leaf had fallen onto the surface from an old, overhanging tree. Li and Kero watched as well.  
  
Suddenly, the ripples grew larger, as if a large rock had been dropped into the stream. With great speed, they flowed from the center, the intervals between each growing smaller as each ripple was produced. Suddenly, the reason behind the creation of the ripples slowly emerged.  
  
Meilin gasped, taking a step back. Li whispered several words softly, quickly squeezing the hilt of his sword as it appeared in his hand. Kero flew above them both, watching the strange new figure through narrowed eyes.  
  
Though the thing looked nothing like Li or Meilin, it appeared too human in shape and form to really be described as a creature. Her entire body was a deep shade of blue, all four or five feet of her. She looked almost like a little girl, with her wide, blue eyes and long, rippling hair. Large, bat-like ears sat on either side of her head, flicking back and forth. Viciously sharp teeth protruded from her mouth as her lips parted, a high-pitched hiss erupting the air.  
  
"What the heck is that?" Li demanded.  
  
"Is it a water sprite?" Meilin whispered.  
  
Kero shook his head firmly. "No. No water sprite I've ever seen looks anything like that. They're much smaller, and extremely shy."  
  
"He's right," Li agreed. "That thing's not natural, whatever it is."  
  
As the thing's hiss grew louder, it slowly waded towards them, sharp claws unsheathed at them. Li crouched low, sword in front of him, prepared to attack. The strange girl-creature leaned down as well, ready to leap at them when suddenly her ears twitched and her head turned downstream.  
  
Surprised, Li and Kero watched her carefully, muscles tense and ready should they need to be used at a moment's notice. Meilin stared wide- eyes at the being, shivering behind Li's tall figure.  
  
Slowly, the girl twisted her eyes towards the trio and hissed wildly as she sank into the water from which she came, bubbles erupting from around her. Amazed, Li slowly lowered his sword as the last tips of her hair vanished. As he watched, however, he saw the bubbles still spurting from the same spot, but now moving. They were heading downstream towards where the girl had looked before. Downstream towards.  
  
Not far away, a splash and a giggle was heard.  
  
Li's eyes widened. "Sakura!"  
  
***  
  
"Zia, stop that!" Sakura ordered, unable to resist laughing at the Kreetal's antics. The creature, for sport, had Sakura's bar of soap clenched in her teeth and was darting around the surface of the water like a dolphin. Sakura, herself, stood on the riverbank, one hand holding onto the towel around her body and the other planted on her hip. "Now, come on. You know we don't have that much time to waste! You were supposed to have put that soap away!"  
  
Zia popped her head out of the water, staring at her mistress with wide eyes, and with the soap still in her mouth, tried to chirp her desire to stay.  
  
Sakura shook her head. "Zia, I'm not going in there after you. Not after I just got myself all good and dry!"  
  
Sakura's mind flooded with images of Zia jumping and playing in the water. Sakura smiled sympathetically and shook her head once again. "I know you want to play, but we really need to go. We have to go find the sorcerer, remember?" Zia looked down in guilt, suddenly remembering their mission. "I'm sorry, but this isn't the time. Maybe later, okay?"  
  
Head perking again, Zia vanished and reappeared on Sakura's shoulder, soap gone and ready to go.  
  
Sakura grinned, rubbing the Kreetal's head with her index finger. "Good girl, thanks." Zia turned to lick the princess's cheek gently. She giggled. "Alright, that's enough, that tickles!"  
  
"Sakura!"  
  
Sakura looked up to see Li and Keroberos (the larger form) racing toward her, Meilin lagging behind. She tilted her head to one side, confused. "Hey, guys. What's the matter?"  
  
Li opened his mouth to reply when he suddenly took in Sakura's towel and "clothes-less-ness". Face burning, he skidded to a stop and spun around, not able to speak a word. Sakura, still confused, turned instead to her guardian.  
  
"Keroberos, what's going on?"  
  
"Sakura! Get away from the-"  
  
"Ahhh! Kero!"  
  
Li, forgetting his momentary discomfiture, spun around, drawing his sword at the same time. "Sakura!"  
  
Li's eyes widened. The water creature stood with her arms at the princess's throat, grinning wickedly. Li's grip on his sword hilt grew tighter as he noticed Sakura's pale color- the result of a severe lack of air.  
  
The princess's hands were at her neck, desperately trying to remove the creature's suffocating grip from her throat. However, her lack of oxygen left her beginning to feel light-headed and faint. All too quickly, her eyelids began to flutter.  
  
"Sakura! Don't close your eyes! You have to stay awake!" Li shouted, trying to use the volume of his voice to jolt the princess awake.  
  
"Li," she strained, her voice incredibly weak. "I.. can't.."  
  
"Sakura, please!" Kero pleaded.  
  
"Let go of her!" Li commanded of the water creature, holding his sword out threateningly.  
  
The creature, well aware of the threat, bared her teeth and hissed, holding out a clawed finger to the helpless girl's neck, drawing a thin line of blood.  
  
"No!" Li yelled, prepared to step forward.  
  
"Drop your sword!"  
  
Li glanced at the guardian, believing he misunderstood him. "What!?"  
  
Kero, eyes unwavering, repeated slowly, "Right now, we are in no position to hold any authority over that.. thing,.. so just drop your sword."  
  
"But-"  
  
"Do it!" Kero snapped.  
  
Li frowned, glancing back and forth between the golden beast and the princess, still not wanting to abandon his instincts that told him to fight. Realizing this, Kero took another approach.  
  
"Look.. the longer you wait.. the longer Sakura suffers.."  
  
Li cringed, looking back at the strange creature's unwilling captive. The girl was growing fainter by the second, appearing as if she would fall unconscious at any time. With a sigh and a great effort, Li, not dropping his guard, tossed his sword to the side, eyes locked on the creature.  
  
"There!" he said, aloud. "Now, release Sakura!"  
  
The water being's wicked grin merely grew as she removed one hand and used the other to hold Sakura above the ground, the princess still trying vainly to loosen the grip. Holding her precariously over the water's edge, the creature watched Li, eyes narrowed, almost as if she were daring him to make another move.  
  
Li's muscles tensed and his nerves flared. He didn't know what to do. If he tried to help, he didn't doubt the creature would snap Sakura's neck in two. If he stayed there, however, the procession toward death would only be delayed as the poor princess choked.  
  
The young man never felt so helpless in all his life. And, finally being exposed to the feeling of vulnerability, he wanted more than anything in the world to be in Sakura's place. To sacrifice himself for her life to continue seemed to be the only option.  
  
Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and opened his mouth to speak.  
  
"Let the girl, go!"  
  
**** Heykyra13: Well? Whatcha think? I know, this may not be all that great, but bare with me.. I don't think I've really touched this since summer.. even worse, I typed a majority of this at least two or three years ago..  
  
Anyway, summary for what I think will end up happening next (I think I might do next chapter summaries at the end, if I can remember ^_^!)  
  
Sakura gets rescued by a mysterious man and a familiar friend. He tells very little about himself, but that's not the ONLY reason Li doesn't like him. His advice sends them in the right direction, but his mysterious puzzles both Kero and Li, leaving dense little Sakura skipping merrily away... does any of that make sense?... GOOD! IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO! MWAHAHAHAHA... and for Bonnie-san... tink-a- link..tink-a-link!.. hee.. 


	12. The Mysterious Stranger

All eyes swiveled to the opposite bank from where the voice spoke, including the water creature's, but none were prepared for the blinding white streak that flashed by and headed straight for Sakura. As fast as lightning, the white streak attacked the hands that held the princess.  
  
Screeching her protest, the creature pulled her hands back, releasing the nearly lifeless girl in the process. Sakura, collapsing on the water-strewn beach, gasped for the air her lungs screamed for. Not waiting for an invitation, Li was the first at her side, followed simultaneously by Kero, both assuring themselves of her well-being. After several moments of coughing and panting, Sakura managed to look up and sputter, "Who?"  
  
The single word being the same question on the protectors' minds, all three looked up at the astonishing sight. Standing in a defensive position in front of Sakura and Li was a familiar looking white beast with eyes glittering and teeth bared.  
  
The water creature stared at the beast, eyes wide, an expression of utter confusion crossing her face. The white beast hissed viciously, intending on protecting its charges absolutely.  
  
Angry blue eyes flicked briefly to Sakura. She watched the entire confrontation from the safety of Li's arms, color slowly returning to her cheeks. Eyes narrowing, the creature's gaze returned to the beast, still tensely protective. Then, in a stunt that astonished all three humans and two protective beasts, the water being uttered a defeated hiss before sinking into the water, bubbles fizzing from her departure.  
  
Relaxing from its position, the white beast carefully sniffed the air before it was sure of their safety. Satisfied, it turned and slowly approached the princess, wary of the swordsman's suspicious looks.  
  
To break the tension, Sakura offered the valiant animal a soft smile and reached out her hand. Perking, the creature leaned forward to gently lick her fingers.  
  
Sakura's smile grew. "Thank you very much... for... for saving..." Suddenly, she felt weak, and without another word, sank back into Li's arms.  
  
"Sakura? Sakura, are you okay?" he asked nervously.  
  
"She's okay," Kero confirmed, examining the girl closely. "I think she's just exhausted. If anything, what she needs is to rest."  
  
"No, Kero," Sakura moaned softly, eyes fluttering. "We... can't... waste time..."  
  
Kero frowned. "Don't be ridiculous! You can't go anywhere in your condition! You need to rest!"  
  
A splash behind the group alerted their attention to the forgotten fourth party.  
  
"You're more than welcome to share my camp, if you need to."  
  
***  
  
The drifting aroma of cooking food aroused Sakura. Eyes flickering open, she tried to sit up, only to be pressed back down by a wave of nausea.  
  
An unfamiliar voice chuckled. "You'd do best to lie still, Princess. You're body hasn't recovered from yesterday's shock."  
  
Obeying the command, Sakura kept her eyes open and turned her head toward the stranger.  
  
The newcomer was a young man who appeared to be the same age as Li. Silky, cobalt blue hair hung curled about his ears and face, and long bangs cushioned a broad forehead. A small pair of gold-rimmed glasses did not conceal the rich, dark eyes of an endless cerulean color that sparkled delightedly. A strong jaw line and warm smile suggested a friendly, intense personality. The stranger sat poking at a lively fire, his loose, dark blue drapes and traveling cloak unable to disguise the well-built form beneath.  
  
As she studied his physique, Sakura suddenly became aware of her rude staring and looked away, cheeks rose. The young man observed the action with amusement, and his smile grew. "No need to feel uncomfortable around me, Your Highness."  
  
Sakura's cheeks brightened. "But it was incredibly rude of me to stare like that."  
  
"Personally, I take it as a compliment," he replied calmly. "Especially when being observed by the Princess of Falyndor."  
  
Her face now a bright red, Sakura looked back at him. "Well, please, at the very least call me Sakura."  
  
The stranger brightened. "Only at the price of you addressing me as Eli."  
  
Comforted by his proposal, Sakura giggled. "Sounds like a fair price."  
  
In sport of the joke, Eli took an informal bow. "As a trader, I pride myself in fairness and the quality of the items I sell and trade."  
  
About to speak up, the sudden appearance of a new individual sparked her interest. The familiar white beast's head poked up from behind a rock, and chirped pleasantly at the princess.  
  
Sakura smiled. "Hello, again."  
  
Eli turned to the beast and grinned. "So, you've decided to return?"  
  
With a nod, the creature suddenly vanished and reappeared in front of the young man in a swirl of light. Sakura blinked, surprised. "Is it yours?"  
  
Eli looked up at Sakura, pausing thoughtfully before he answered. "Not really."  
  
Sakura's head tilted. Eli smiled at the gesture, and continued to explain. "What I mean is this little fellow doesn't really belong to me, but rather I take care of him, anyway. He comes and goes as he wishes."  
  
"I see," Sakura replied, nodding. The beast's head spun around to face her, and before she could blink, it was sitting on her lap, observing her curiously. Sakura laughed and reached out to stroke his tiny head, glancing at its unusual features. "Is it a Kreetal?" she asked.  
  
Absorbed in the small beast, Sakura didn't notice a strange glint appear in Eli's eyes. "No, actually, although I did think the same for a while. But there isn't any variety of Kreetal that own jewels on their forehead or are without a pair of wings. I've checked."  
  
Confused, Sakura looked up at him, frowning. "But the way he disappeared and appeared- from the rock to you, then to me. Isn't that a Kreetalian characteristic?"  
  
"Well, that particular method of transportation is unique to the species," Eli commented thoughtfully, "but what that creature does isn't like that. Rather, he posses quite a degree of speed, enough to enable him to move faster than a human eye can comprehend."  
  
"Oh," Sakura replied, nodding. "I suppose that makes sense. I saw the same thing when he got caught up in that fight with Zia."  
  
"Zia is your Kreetal?" Eli asked.  
  
Sakura nodded. "Yup, she's my best friend. speaking of which," she added, looking around. "Where is everybody?"  
  
"Your friends? They should be here shortly."  
  
As if on cue, the small Kero emerged from the forest carrying a sack of water, followed by the Kreetal with a similar sack. Upon seeing the revived princess, both dropped their burdens and raced to her side. Zia crawled all over the laughing girl, licking every area of her face unprotected by her shielding arms while the guardian was content to watch.  
  
"Zia, enough!" Sakura ordered playfully. "You're tickling me!"  
  
Finally relenting, the Kreetal allowed the princess to sit up before promptly returning to her lap, cuddling up in her arms. Sakura returned the embrace, smiling. "I'm glad to see you, too. And it looks like your wing is better," she added, noticing the absence of the Kreetal's bandages. Zia looked up at her master and nodded proudly, chirping.  
  
"Glad to see you're feeling better, Princess," Kero said warmly.  
  
Sakura smiled. "And I have all of you to thank for it. Including you, as well, Eli," she added, turning to the trader.  
  
The young man returned the smile, eyes glittering. "The pleasure was mine."  
  
Turning back to Kero, Sakura asked, "So, where are Li and Mei-"  
  
"It was your own fault!"  
  
"But Li!" Meilin exclaimed, bursting onto the camp. "My tongue! It's burning!"  
  
Li appeared behind her, lifting two large sacs of fruit. "I told you those were char apples, but you wouldn't listen to me."  
  
Meilin crossed her arms over her chest, sulking. "It's not my fault I mistook them for red gahna fruits. They look almost exactly the same!"  
  
Li ignored her protest. "That still doesn't excuse the fact that you're incredibly-"  
  
"Li! Meilin!" Sakura exclaimed cheerfully.  
  
Both humans stopped, startled by the princess's greeting. A little stunned, Li involuntarily loosened his grip on the sacks, letting them slide to the ground while Meilin's scowl returned.  
  
"Sakura, are you okay?" Li asked, walking forward.  
  
The princess smiled. "Yep. I'm fine, thanks to you guys and Eli."  
  
Li stopped and spun around to look at the trader. With a smile still lurking on his face, Eli held his gaze, doing nothing to ease the swordsman's suspicion about the stranger. After a moment of intense silence, Eli shrugged, grinning. "Like I said, I was more than happy to assist."  
  
Briefly throwing the newcomer an irritated scowl, Li made his way toward Sakura and knelt beside her. "Are you sure you're okay?"  
  
Sakura smiled and nodded. "Never been better!" she replied confidently.  
  
From behind them, Meilin snorted. "Thanks to me, might I add."  
  
Exchanging exasperated glances with the young swordsman, Sakura tried to remain cheerful and looked at the girl appraisingly. "Yes, thanks to you. And as always, you did a fabulous job!"  
  
Meilin's scarlet orbs eyed the princess suspiciously. "Naturally. I am the best."  
  
Li rolled his eyes. "Meilin."  
  
Ignoring the man's groan, Meilin lifted her chin and stalked away toward the fire.  
  
Suddenly, a loud grumbling alerted the man and woman's attention. Confused momentarily, Li eyes flicked toward Sakura's stomach, than up to meet the princess's gaze. Sakura's face turned a bright red at the sound of a second gurgle. Li smirked.  
  
"Very impressive, Princess," he remarked.  
  
Sakura's expression instantly turned from embarrassed to defensive. "It's not my fault! I haven't eaten since yesterday!"  
  
A chuckle brought their attention to the trader. "Guess we'll have to do something about that, haven't we?"  
  
***  
  
"So, Eli..."  
  
Sakura looked up from the flames to face the friendly young man whose attention quickly focused on her. The action did not go unnoticed by Li, however, as his eyes narrowed uncomfortably. And while Sakura took to the charming strange immediately, he could not say he shared her easily won trust.  
  
"Yes, milady?" he replied smoothly. Li's scowl deepened.  
  
Without speaking, Sakura's eyebrow quirked expectantly.  
  
Acknowledging the look, Eli chuckled and bowed his head in apology. "Excuse me, Sakura," he corrected himself.  
  
"Thank you," she replied, pleased.  
  
"You were saying?"  
  
Sakura nodded. "Yes. You haven't told us much about yourself. Where are you from?"  
  
From his comfortable position on Sakura's shoulder with half of a yellow fruit in his paws, Kero's eyes darted toward Eli. Was it just his imagination, or did the man's eyes just suddenly seem- familiar? A look of almost enigmatic pleasure crossed his face that the guardian could have sworn he saw somewhere before. But almost as soon as it appeared, the expression was gone, and Kero instantly dismissed his foolish thoughts.  
  
Though aware of the beast's momentary scrutinizing glance, Eli showed no sign of it as he spoke. "I'm not really from anywhere. I travel around too much to really call anyplace my home."  
  
Sakura nodded. "That must be rather sad, though."  
  
Eli smiled, shaking his head. "One would think so, but with my friend, here, accompanying me," he indicated the white beast seated beside him whose ears perked acknowledgingly, "my travels have been quite pleasant."  
  
Sakura subconsciously ran a finger along her own Kreetal's spine who purred loudly in response. "I know what you mean," she agreed, smiling. "Zia has always been wonderful company."  
  
Eli nodded, pleased, and leaned forward, resting his chin on his folded hands, watching the princess. "So what about you? Where are you all heading to?"  
  
Sakura opened her mouth to speak, but Li interjected.  
  
"We were supposed to escort the princess to a town nearby," he replied curtly. "She has business to deal with, there."  
  
"Oh really?" Eli said, interested. He obviously chose to ignore the blatant attempt to thwart his curiosity. "Which town?"  
  
Li's eyes narrowed. "I'm afraid the name slips me, for the moments."  
  
Eli nodded, grinning. "Well, you must be headed for the village of Nordence. There aren't any other towns around for miles."  
  
Kero brightened, joining the conversation. "Yes, Nordence! That's the one! We were heading in that direction when we got. delayed. Isn't that right, Master Showron?" Kero added, eying the swordsman expectantly. The young man nodded, exchanging brief glances with the guardian before returning his focus to the trader.  
  
Eli smiled understandingly and leaned back, making himself comfortable. "Yes, I thought so." Thoughtfully, he glanced at the princess, asking curiously. "Have you ever visited Nordence, Sakura?"  
  
After receiving meaningful looks from both Li and Kero, Sakura tried to keep up with the story as best she could. "Actually, no. That's part of the reason I'm visiting, actually. On behalf of my father. He couldn't make it himself, and asked me to take his place."  
  
"I see," Eli replied, heaving a contented sigh and looking up at the darkened, star-spattered sky. "Well, you're in for a treat. Of all my travels, I'd have to say Nordence is among the places I visit time after time. The people there are very nice, and the culture itself is exquisite."  
  
"Really?" Sakura said softly, genuinely interested.  
  
"Oh, yes. It's really a bustling little village with a lot of pride for themselves. And it's in their right, as well. The town has a lot to offer. It's uniqueness lies in the unusual concentration of skilled craftsmen from quite a variety of skills- from sword smithing to glass finery to jewelry making to woodworking. It's all of the finest quality, and some of the best in Falyndor."  
  
Before Li or Kero could stop her, Sakura found herself exclaiming, "Why don't you join us, Eli? For one who knows the village and the way so well, I'm sure your help would be much appreciated."  
  
Eli resisted the urge to smirk when he noticed both the guardian and swordsman groan in disbelief as his gaze rested upon Sakura. With a warm, charming smile, he replied sincerely, "If it's no trouble to your entourage, I'd love to accompany you."  
  
Sakura smiled. "Oh, don't worry. It's no trouble at all. Right, guys?" Turning to glance at them for approval, she was surprised at the series of shaking heads and disapproving looks. Suddenly realizing what she just did, she offered the two a small, apologetic smile. "Oops?" she whispered.  
  
Pretending not to notice the tension he knew he caused, Eli continued to speak. "If I am to become your escort, Lady Sakura, then I must insist on introducing you to someone upon arrival."  
  
Forgetting her mistake, Sakura turned to look at him curiously. "Really? Who?"  
  
Eli did not answer, but merely grinned perceptively. "Someone I think you'd like very much. A character, much like yourself, with an endearing personality and rather charming qualities."  
  
Sakura grinned. "Well, if you think so highly of this person, undoubtedly I have to be introduced."  
  
Eli's smile softened. "As dear a friend as I've ever known," he agreed.  
  
Sakura noticed the tenderness that overcame the trader's expression as he spoke, but decided against remarking about it. Instead, she asked pointedly, "So, how long will it take to reach Nordence?"  
  
Snapping out of his trance-like state, the young man replied, "With an early start tomorrow, we will be walking along its streets before sundown."  
  
With a nod, Sakura emitted a yawn before settling herself down once again. Without need for further request, Zia promptly blinked from Sakura's lap and returned seconds later with the same sleeping mats and blankets.  
  
Kero nodded accordingly. "The Kreetal is right. If we are to be ready to go early tomorrow, we should get some sleep while we can."  
  
Li nodded, and silently retrieved his sleeping gear from the Kreetal. He decided to set his mat near Sakura, but in a position where he could keep an eye on the trader. Despite Sakura's natural friendliness and acceptance of the newcomer, his own instincts told him otherwise, and he continued throwing warning glances toward the young man to assure him that he held no trust with the swordsman.  
  
Kero, too, felt rather agitated around the stranger, and for reasons not too dissimilar from Li's. The guardian could sense an underlying power within the young man, like he could with any person, but something about his presence unnerved him. And until he was sure what it was, Kero was content with being equally wary of him.  
  
Meilin's purpose of distrusting Eli stemmed from her lack of trust for anyone she met, including the princess and her companions. And her irritation concerning the attention he showed Sakura, as well as the jealousy she felt at noticing Li's similar annoyance.  
  
Sakura, however, showed no discord toward the trader. His calm demeanor and soothing presence reminded her of her father, and she willingly found herself driven toward accepting the man without feeling threatened. Sensing the animosity emitted from Li and Kero toward him, however, Sakura did her best to keep her friendliness to a respectable distance, if only for their sake.  
  
With a sigh, the princess settled herself into the blanket folds, feeling a warm sense of security with Kero and Zia nestled on either side of her and Li resting close by. Encompassed by the warmth of her friends, Sakura soon drifted into a peaceful sleep.  
  
Eli watched the proceeds of the odd group closely. Gazing resting from one sleeping form to another, a grin slowly grew on his face when he stopped at Li. The young man slept with a frown on his face, and his sword nearby.  
  
Eli's eyes narrowed. "You're affections for the princess are admirable, young Showron, but you have nothing to fear from me." With a smirk, he added to himself, "I wouldn't dream of trying to tear Sakura from such a formidable opponent as you."  
  
With a satisfied sigh, Eli sank down into his own sleeping gear. The white beast curled up in front of him, turning its head to impart a questioning glance. Eli grinned.  
  
"No, my friend. For now, we'll see how she develops on her journey, both her skills, and her relationship with Mr. Showron," he added, a sneaky glimmer in his eyes. "Until then, we'll just see what happens when we arrive in Nordence."  
  
***  
  
Heykyra13: Well? Whatcha think? Eli's finally been introduced! Only a few more characters, now, until the entire cast has been complete. Will Sakura and the gang reach the sorcerer's place in time? Will he help them? What about her father and Tori? Or worse, Kain? And who is this person Eli wants Sakura to meet? To find out, tune in next time for another episode of.... okay, I'm just gonna stop there... *gasps and grabs throat* Oh No!... Too much... cheeziness!...  
  
Next chapter: Who the heck are all these creatures that keep attacking Sakura and why in the do they keep going after her? ... well, just to let you know, you don't find out yet... *WHACK!*... I know, I know, I'm sorry... but there will be more encounters, and Eli continues to pester Li. Lots of bickering to be encountered! And bickering always means funny stuff! 


End file.
